Featured Image Credit: 20th Century Fox
Topics: Star Wars, TV And Film, Lucasfilm, Disney
David Corenswet has put the cat amongst the pigeons after unveiling his preferential Star Wars watch order.
What this has highlighted though is that a ton of people still don’t know what the ‘machete order’ is; you’re about to be enlightened, my friend.
If you’re thus far confused, you’ve likely spent your life deliberating whether to watch the Star Wars films in chronological or release order.
Release order places the original trilogy first (A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi), followed by the prequel trilogy (The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of yhe Sith), with the sequel trilogy rounding things out (The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, The Rise of Skywalker).
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If you opt for chronological order, then you’d do the prequel trilogy followed by the original trilogy with the sequel trilogy once again coming in last.
Personally, I’m a chronological person, but I did do release order originally and would recommend that viewing pattern for newbies.
If you’re a seasoned Star Wars fan though, you should try the so-called ‘machete order’.
Superman star Corenswet revealed that was his preference whilst appearing on Brittany Broski’s Royal Court, beginning with A New Hope and following with The Empire Strikes Back, The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, and Return of the Jedi.
“What the f**k David,” read one viral response.
He’s pretty based for this, if you ask me.
The ‘machete order’ came about for two reasons. The first is that chronological order ruins the ‘I am your father’ twist, while release order can prove a tad dull to some considering that the prequels are arguably not as interesting without the context of the OG trilogy.
That’s why the ‘machete order’ splices the two trilogies together so you switch between the main action in the OG trilogy and the context you need from the prequel trilogy.
This order was invented by Rod Hilton, although his original order features one stark difference to Corenswet’s preference.
While Corenswet places The Phantom Menace between The Empire Strikes Back and Attack of the Clones, it’s actually eliminated completely from Hilton’s original version of the ‘machete order’.
Why? Hilton claims it's irrelevant.
His order places the focus very much on Luke’s story.
“Just when our main man Luke is left with the burning question ‘Did my father really become Darth Vader?’, we take an extended flashback to explain that it’s true. Once we understand how his father turned to the dark side, we go back to the main storyline and see how Luke is able to rescue him from it and salvage the good in him, which is the only way to destroy the Empire,” Hilton explained.
The Phantom Menace doesn’t really do a lot to add to that thinking, so it was excluded but you could, of course, be a rebel and add it back in.
“The concept of the prequels being a flashback sequence of sorts after getting the bomb drop that Vader has been Anakin all along honestly goes insanely hard if you think about it,” wrote one enlightened fan.
So to all of you shouting at Corenswet, maybe you should give this watch order a go for a new perspective on the franchise.