A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…. 

Since the beginning of time, homo sapiens have debated over the proper order to view the iconic films known as Star Wars. We have reports from several sources telling us which order may be correct. A junior in high school, Grace Reynolds explains, “definitely four, five six, one, two, three and then four, five, six again because the originals are the best and always will be.” 

This debate exists because of the timeline the movies were released vs. the timeline of the story. “Episode IV: A New Hope” was released in 1977, the start of the Star Wars saga, followed by Episodes V and VI. However, in 1999, “Episode I: The Phantom Menace” was released, the beginning of the storyline revealed. Fans have debated on whether to watch them chronologically by release date or storyline dates. Most hard-core fans suggest watching them in release date order, a tribute to George Lucas, the creator of the sci-fi movies. “I believe that you should watch them four, five six, one, two, three and then you know, seven, eight, nine. Because that’s the original way of things, I want to experience it the way that George Lucas made it to be experienced. He made four, five, six first so therefore we have to watch that, and then we get the backstory, and then we get what happens after,” junior Hiro Hirano-Holcomb said. 

While many fans agree that the release dates are the way to go, some believe you should start at the beginning of the timeline and move forwards. However, doing so may reveal spoilers, ruining the element of surprise for new fans. Mr. Benson prefers an order in which you sandwich Episode II and III between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi to eliminate all chances for spoilers. “It’s called the machete order,” Mr. Benson says. “Then of course, you’ve got to throw Solo in there, you’ve got to throw Andor in there, you got to throw the Mandalorian in there. The machete order’s good,” he says.