The original " Star Wars " movie did to the boxful office what theDeath Stardid to the planet Alderaan . Which is a nerdy way of saying the film blow up all fiscal expectations . Indeed , " Star Wars " became one of Hollywood ’s enceinte success stories .
On its going appointment , May 25 , 1977 , the movie was screened injust 32 theaters . Most manufacture leader wrote it off as a vouch fizzle . And yet the little distance opera house that could earned an unprecedented $ 461 million ( more than $ 2.2 billion in today ’s buck ) domestically in its original theatrical run . When you adjust for pomposity , " Star Wars " remains thesecond highest - grossing movieof all metre after " choke with the farting . "
That fanfare all but guaranteed the first " Star Wars " outing would n’t be the last .
Name Change
Today , " Star Wars " ( 1977 ) choke by another title . On DVD and the stream political program Disney+ , the film that start up it all is consult to as " Star warfare : Episode IV - A New Hope . " Back in ' 77 , it was plainly call " Star Wars . "
" The Episode IV notation was n’t there,““Star Wars " podcasterand iHeartRadio negociate executive producer , Holly Frey , excuse in an email . " That did n’t happen until the celluloid was re - released in 1981 , with ' Episode IV ' and ' A New Hope ' in the opening night creep . "
One class prior , in 1980 , franchise Maker George Lucas and his film production company , Lucasfilm , uncover the first of many sequels to the original movie . Its deed of conveyance ? " The Empire Strikes Back . " Then along came " Return of the Jedi " in 1983 .
Together , the three pic make up the original " Star Wars " trilogy . They tell the story of Luke Skywalker ( Mark Hamill ) , Han Solo ( Harrison Ford ) and Princess Leia ( the later Carrie Fisher ) banding together with droids , Wookiesand other various rebels to get the better of their galaxy ’s evil Empire .
Central to that narration is the Sith Lord , Darth Vader .
Formerly know as Anakin Skywalker , Darth Vader ’s been recognize as one of thegreatest movie villainsof all time by the American Film Institute . Vader ’s not all unsound , though . He ’s a fallen angel of sorts , a Jedi corrupted by thedark side of the Force .
" Star Wars " fans would have to waitress until the turn of the 21st C to learn the total truth about his origin .
Prequels and Sequels
Lucasfilm finally gave hearing a new " Star Wars " motion-picture show in 1999 , with the release of " Star Wars : Episode I - The Phantom Menace . "
The first entry in aprequel trilogyset before the events of " A New Hope , " " The Phantom Menace " was followed by " Star war : Episode II - Attack of the Clones " ( 2002 ) and " Star Wars : Episode III - The Revenge of the Sith " ( 2005 ) . A young Anakin Skywalker is the chief reference in all three motion-picture show .
Fast - forward to 2012 , whenDisney purchased Lucasfilmfor the kempt sum of $ 4.05 billion . That set the microscope stage for the " Star Wars " subsequence trilogy , a Disney - produced serial of three raw plastic film that take place after " Return of the Jedi . "
They are , in chronological order , " Star Wars : Episode VII - The Force Awakens " ( 2015 ) , " Star Wars : Episode VIII - The Last Jedi " ( 2017 ) and " Star Wars : Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker " ( 2019 ) .
Between those three movies , Disney squeezed in two spinoffs : " Rogue One : A Star Wars Story " ( 2016 ) and " Solo : A Star Wars Story " ( 2018 ) . Although these two films have their fans , they are n’t study to be part of the prequel , sequel or original " Star Wars " trilogies . ( Still following ? )
The films with the word " Episode " in their title are of a dissimilar breed . Fans call these three trilogy " the Skywalker Saga . "
The Best Order to Watch the ‘Star Wars’ Films
So , think you want to ingurgitate - see all nine of the movies . What ’s the good screening order ?
The claim seem to inculpate that you should commence with " Episode I " and finish with " Episode IX . " That ’s how the storey unfolds chronologically ; the prequels are coiffe before the original trilogy , which is followed up by the 2010s sequel trilogy .
But hold yourtauntauns . You could also make the argument that it ’s better tostartwith the original trilogy . As you ’ll retrieve , episodes IV through VI were release first . Should n’t they get antecedence intervention and be screened before the prequels ( and then the sequel ) ?
Basically , why not watch the Skywalker saga film in the order of their theatrical release ?
" I call back the most pleasurable way is whatever forge for the viewer , " Frey state . " I screw some people do n’t like all of the movies , and there ’s no understanding they should rewatch ones they do n’t like . On the rare occasions I can hit all nine Skywalker saga films in a row , I alternate between release order and chronological order . Both are fun ! "
For his part , George Lucas imprecate by the " chronological order " approach . " startle with one , " hetold piranha in 2015 . " That ’s the elbow room to do it right on : 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 . That ’s the way they ’re supposed to be done . Just because it take a tenacious time to take it does n’t mean you do n’t do it in decree . "
( Granted , when Lucas made these remarks , " The Force Awakens " was just a few sidereal day previous and the continuation trilogy was still very much a employment in progress . Do what you will with that information . )
A Machete Job
Now if you ’re unimpressed by the options we laid out above , there ’s another schooltime of intellection deserving considering . Behold , young padawans , the " Machete order . "
Created in 2011 by software engineerRod Hilton , this look at order is a definite shake - up . essentially , it regale some of the prequel films like an extended flashback sequence in the big Skywalker saga . ( Think " The Godfather : Part II . " )
Under Hilton ’s program , viewer are advise to observe " A New Hope " first . Then they screen " The Empire Strikes Back , " which — pillager alert — ends with the revelation that Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker ’s Father of the Church all along .
It ’s here that the Machete edict starts to deviate from the norm . Instead of follow " take of the Jedi , " you have on the 2nd prequel film , " Attack of the Clones . " Next comes " Revenge of the Sith , " follow by a return to the original trilogy with " return key of the Jedi . " watch in this order puts the prequels in a shoes that makes more sense so they do n’t bring out too many secrets .
Where do the subsequence movies fit in ? Hilton state on his blog in 2015 that every time a fresh " Star Wars " flick is released , he make lots of emails asking where it fits in the Machete order . His solvent ? check any unexampled sequels in order — no matter how many they make — because they ’re simply a chronological lengthiness of the storey .
Now , did you acknowledge the Machete order hack " Star war : Episode I - The Phantom Menace " completely out of the lineup ? Hilton dismissed this particular pic as " irrelevant " to both Luke ’s character bow and to the saga as a whole .
The logic won over comedian Patton Oswalt , a celebrity " Star Wars " buff whoendorsedthe Machete monastic order in a 2015 appearance on " Late Night With Seth Meyers . "
A Galaxy Far Away
But not everyone likes this strategy either . Hilton explicitly wanted to cast the Skywalker saga ( as it existed back in 2011 ) as " Luke ’s tale . " Is that really fairish to all the other role in the " Star Wars " universe ? peradventure , maybe not .
" [ Hilton ’s ] approach is predicated on the idea that the whole series is about Luke , not Anakin , and that he feel that Episode I is irrelevant in that framing , " articulate Frey .
" If that ’s what works for people , hunky-dory . But I disagree that the Skywalker saga is really about Luke … One of the things I love most about ' Star Wars ' is that some people identify with Luke , some with Padme , some with Rey , some with Han , some with Leia , etc . To say it ’s ever only about one person feels too reductive to me . So Machete is n’t my jam , but go for it if that maximizes your delectation ! "
