I’ve reached the age where a lot of my friends have kids. When talking to them about movies, one of the things I keep getting asked about is my thoughts on the order they should show their kids theStar Warsmovies. Some think they should watch them in the order the films were originally released. Others think starting with the prequels is the way to go. However, now that you have films likeRogue OneandSolo: A Star Wars Story, the answer has gotten even more complicated.
WithStar Wars: The Last Jedinow available on Blu-ray, last week I got to talk withMark Hamillin Ireland. Since Hamill has been asked every possible question about the making ofThe Last Jedi, I went in trying to find something he hasn’t been asked about. Which led me to asking his thoughts on the order in which people should watch theStar Warsmovies. I won’t spoil what he said here; for his answer you’ll have to watch the video above.
You’re probably wondering why this interview happened in Ireland. The reason is Hamill was the international guest of honor at Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Day parade and, if you didn’t know, part of the movie was filmed there. Since Ireland plays an important location, Disney teamed up with the country to bring over about 20 reporters from around the world to talk to Hamill and then visit some of the amazing locations whereRian Johnsonfilmed the movie. In the coming week you can expect a lot more from the trip which, as you can guess, was truly amazing and something I’ll never forget.
Finally, as a life-longStar Warsfan, you’d think it would be easy to recommend an order for watching theStar Warsfilms if you’ve never seen them. But it’s not. I can easily explain why you should watch the films in the order they were released because that’s the way the world experienced them. However, while I don’t care for the prequels, if you’ve ever seen kids watching them, they take in those films in such a different way than an adult watching them after the original trilogy does. They don’t realize who Darth Sidious really is and it’s an absolute delight to watch them put it all together.
After you’ve watched what Mark Hamill had to say about the order to watch theStar Warsfilms, let me know in the comments how you think you should show them to people that have never seen them. I’m very curious.
Look for more from my Ireland trip and my interview with Mark Hamilltomorrow.
Until then,if you’ve never read Max Nicholson’s comprehensive (canon) guide to marathoningStar Wars,what better time than now.
