In 2011, blogger and software engineer Rod Hilton created the Machete Order. This order quickly became quite popular among Star Wars fans. The entire purpose of the Machete Order was to find a new way to watch the Star Wars movies that focused on storytelling rather than the chronological or release order. It places a focus on Luke Skywalker as well as Princess Leia and Han Solo. The order for people to watch it goes as follows: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, and Return of the Jedi. I’m going to attempt to explain why I think this order works. If you want the full explanation from the guy who created it, that goes into more detail then it’s here: https://www.rodhilton.com/2011/11/11/the-star-wars-saga-suggested-viewing-order/.
The order starts things off pretty simply. It begins with A New Hope which is the first Star Wars movie ever made. This makes sense because it kicked everything off. A New Hope is essentially the “core” Star Wars movie and thus is the most important in my opinion. It clearly establishes the world and characters that fans will come to know for the rest of the story. The order then moves on to The Empire Strikes Back, the sequel to the original. Starting off with these two movies introduces the viewer to the core characters of the series. Luke, Leia, and Han Solo are shown to be the main characters whose stories we are invested in. The core conflict is also introduced of the Rebellion facing the Empire. I think starting off with arguably two of the best movies overall also makes newer fans more likely to stick around. Now there is something to mention here. In this viewing order, The Phantom Menace is removed since it doesn’t focus on the main character being Luke Skywalker and isn’t central to the story. Phantom Menace is considered supplementary material that you can watch afterward. Again, the entire purpose of this viewing order is to be invested in the main characters of Luke, Leia, and Han Solo, but especially Luke. However, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith are still important to the story because they provide more background information to the other movies. They also provide a preface to the Original Trilogy. In the prequels, we learn about Anakin Skywalker and his fall to becoming Darth Vader as well as how the Empire came to form. It also provides backstory to Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and the demise of the Republic, and fills in other plot holes to make the original story more enjoyable. Lastly, the Machete Order finishes off with Return of the Jedi. The Return of the Jedi is the culmination of all the movies. Viewers now have the necessary backstory to the first two movies and see the demise of the Empire and redemption of Vader. By placing the two prequels before, it allows for a more emotional and substantive finale.
