--- description: The fan-created "Machete Order" is still the best way to watch the Star Wars movies, even after The Force Awakens and Rogue One. title: Machete Order Is the Definitive Way to Watch the Star Wars Movies image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd0555c3d0a3ea6d8/6988b2a5a988ca40e66ba6e6/star-wars.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Is Still the Best Way to Watch the Star Wars Movies  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 22, 2017 8:48 PM CUT  Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope Year: 1977 USA Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford Director: George Lucas Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope Year: 1977 USA Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford Director: George LucasLucasfilm Ltd.  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 22, 2017 8:48 PM CUT [_Star Wars_](http://time.com/4112165/every-star-wars-death/ "undefined") fans love nothing more than a good argument: [Who shot first](http://time.com/4132344/star-wars-harrison-ford-greedo-shot-first-fallon/ "undefined")? Why can’t [stormtroopers aim worth a damn](https://moviepilot.com/p/rogue-one-why-stormtroopers-have-bad-aim/4176059 "undefined")? And, perhaps most contentious of all: What’s the best order to even watch these movies in? With the 40th anniversary of the series this month and a [new movie](http://time.com/4661969/star-wars-the-last-jedi-everything-we-know/ "undefined") slated for later this year, it’s a particularly pressing question. After all, the first movie by order of release is Episode IV, _A New Hope._ Then there’s V and VI, then we go back to the prequels for I, II, III. Further complicating matters are the new Disney-era movies: [_The Force Awakens_](http://time.com/4150168/review-star-wars-the-force-awakens/ "undefined")_,_ which takes place after Episode VI, and [_Rogue One_](http://time.com/4597915/rogue-one-review-star-wars-story/ "undefined"), a spinoff prequel that transpires [just before the events of ](http://time.com/4603719/star-wars-darth-vader-rogue-one-scene/ "undefined")_New Hope._ Clearly there are plenty of ways to go about this. You could follow the order-of-theatrical-release that I just outlined above. That makes sense because it’s the same experience you would’ve gotten if you were around when the whole _Star Wars_ thing started in ’77. **MORE** [How _Rogue One_ Fits Into the _Star Wars_ Timeline](http://time.com/4594017/rogue-one-star-wars-timeline/ "undefined") You could also do order-of-storyline, which looks like this: I, II, III, _Rogue One_, IV, V, VI, VII. But then you’re mucking through the prequels before you get to any of the really good stuff. If you’re introducing someone to _Star Wars_ for the first time, that’s definitely not the best way to do it, lest Jar-Jar forever ruin the saga for them. There is another way. It’s called [Machete Order,](http://time.com/3817072/star-wars-download-machete-order/ "undefined") and it’s an approach I’ve advocated in the past. Here’s what I wrote about Machete Order two years ago: --- > “” --- Of course, the existence of _The Force Awakens_ and _Rogue One_ complicate matters somewhat. So I reached out to Hilton directly to see what he had to say about matters. His response, in part: --- > “” --- Why not include _Rogue One_ in Machete Order, given how nicely it rolls directly into _A New Hope?_ Here’s Hilton again: --- > “” --- So there you have it — and I don’t see much to disagree with there, though you could make an argument for watching _Rogue One_ right after III and before VI. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4784685/star-wars-machete-order-rogue-one-force-awakens/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4784685/star-wars-machete-order-rogue-one-force-awakens/"},"headline":"This Is Still the Best Way to Watch the Star Wars Movies","datePublished":"2017-05-22T20:48:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T05:00:18.370Z","description":"Even after The Force Awakens and Rogue One","url":"https://time.com/4784685/star-wars-machete-order-rogue-one-force-awakens/","keywords":["movies","Star Wars topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd0555c3d0a3ea6d8/6988b2a5a988ca40e66ba6e6/star-wars.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Fitzpatrick","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd0555c3d0a3ea6d8/6988b2a5a988ca40e66ba6e6/star-wars.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope","caption":"Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope","creditText":"Lucasfilm Ltd.","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4784685/star-wars-machete-order-rogue-one-force-awakens/","name":"This Is Still the Best Way to Watch the Star Wars Movies"}}]}] ```