The "Novel" Order of Star Wars (movies only)

There is no right or wrong order to first watch the Star Wars films.  There is no right or wrong order to re-watch the Star Wars films.

With that in mind...I have a few thoughts on my own preferences.  But first...there a few possibilities to consider.

George Lucas thinks of his saga in the chronological order in the story. 1-2-3-4-5-6.  Many of the fans who were kids in the late 90s/early 2000s think of the saga as 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-R1-8-Solo-9.  

Many of the fans who were kids in the 70s and 80s think the proper order to first watch the Star Wars films is in release order.  Some fans stop at Return of the Jedi, but for the rest, their order is 4-5-6-1-2-3-7-R1-8-Solo-9.  

For quite a while, my preferred order of the Lucasian Star Wars movies was Episode 4, then 5, then 1, then 2, then 3 and finally 6.  This would make the "Prequel Trilogy" a flashback in the middle of the "Original  Trilogy", and preserves ROTJ as the climax of the six.  I call this the "Flashback Order".  It is sort of a variation on the "Machete Order", which does the same thing, but skips Episode 1. (Reading about the Machete Order is what got me thinking about what happens to the narrative if you change the viewing order.)

But recently I thought of a new NOVEL way of being introduced to Star Wars.  By "novel", I mean that this viewing order would have the audience to jump back and forth in time throughout the saga, just as would be perfectly normal in a written novel.  So, what I call the “Novel Order” would be as follows:

• Episode 4 (ANH), then
• Episode 1 (TPM), then
• Episode 2 (AOTC), then
• Rogue One, then
• Episode 5 (ESB),  then
• Episode 3 (ROTS), then
• Episode 6 (ROTJ), then
• Episode 7 (TFA), then
• Solo, then
• Episode 8 (TLJ), and finally 
• Episode 9 (TROS)

This is what I think is the best order.  This, of course leaves out all of the outstanding additional content in animation, novels, comics and video games.  But we have to stop somewhere.  We're telling a story here.

But WHY is this an optimal order for telling this story?  You have to think about what you learn in each movie and how the narrative would play out.   Written novels jump around this way all the time as a narrative technique.   You begin in the middle of the action to get you interested in the setting of the story and the characters affected.  Then, once you're invested in the story, more mundane details can be leisurely explored to give backstory and context more depth and texture.  All that leads to a final confrontation with many climactic turning points hit along the way.

Each chapter of the story moves the story further along, while creating a richer and deeper saga to experience.  Lucas' use of "rhyming poetry" between the Originals and the Sequels makes this method even more appealing.  I think it would be amazing to experience SW in this order.   

Here's a breakdown of the rationale for why it works, by thinking of what you learn in each Episode:

Episode 4 (A New Hope):
We jump right into the action.  We immediately get the sense of the state of this Galaxy far, far away with the opening shots of the cool looking spaceships...one that is small and plucky being chased (picked on) by one that is massive and imposing.  We meet Vader. Boo!!! We meet Leia...quite the fiery leader! We meet Luke...will this headstrong idealist get caught up in some damn-fool crusade? We meet Obi-wan...hero of The Clone Wars and comrade of Leia's father, Bail Organa. We meet Han...can he escape his past and do the right thing? We learn that Luke's father was a hero killed by Vader. We learn there is a galactic empire that emerged after the Jedi were destroyed.

Episode 1 (The Phantom Menace):
We already know that the Jedi were wiped out by the Dark Side, so, the first thing we see are Jedi in action.  And not just Jedi, but a young Obi-wan and his master.  Obi-wan...the only Jedi to survive the Dark Times, as far as we know.  This Padme sure is a brave leader, despite being so young.  And we meet Anakin Skywalker.  Luke's father!  Cool!  We see him use The Force to help his friends and to escape from slavery.   What a great kid.   I can totally see why he'll grow up to be a great hero, just like Obi-wan said.  Anakin being separated from his mother sure was a touching moment.  I sure hope he learns to cope with that loss.  We get to see Jedi being Jedi...just keeping the peace throughout the Old Republic.  That reminds me...I wonder what Old Ben could have been talking about when he talked about Darth Vader wiping out all the Jedi.  I wonder if Darth Vader is connected to this Darth Maul and Darth Sidious. That'll be a tragedy!  And that Yoda guy is pretty cool.  I wonder who that guy in the dark robe pulling all the strings is.  Wonder why that red faced guy is so upset.   He was pretty awesome. Maybe Vader will take the place as Darth Sidious' apprentice in the next movie.

Episode 2 (Attack of the Clones):
The Old Republic shows a bit a tarnish.  Whoa...Anakin seems to have gone through a lot.   Wow...killing those sandpeople seems pretty dark.  Anakin must feel pretty awful knowing that if he had used his power in the first place his mother would be alive.  Hmmm.  That Yoda guy teaching the younglings was pretty neat.   I wonder if he taught Obi-wan when he was that age?  We meet Jango Fett and his son Boba.  Cool armor.   We meet Bail Organa.  Isn't he the guy whose planet got demolished in Episode 4?  Hmm.  The Clone Wars erupt. Wow...Vader must be coming soon.  The Seperatists have the Death Star plans.  And we know Vader is connected to the Death Star.  So, Vader will probably be a Seperatist General.  Maybe even the guy who takes over after Dooku.  This Clone War must be when all of the other Jedi get killed leaving Obi-Wan as the only surviving Jedi. 

Rogue One

Those last two movies were cool flashbacks.  Ah...back to Luke and Leia's timeperiod.  Well...I guess just before.  We get to see a bit more of the Galaxy.  We get to see how the Dark Times are affecting regular people. Very cool.  And what ending!  Vader was amazing. And that final shot brings us right back to thinking about A New Hope and how it ended.  That leads right into...

Episode 5 (The Empire Strikes Back):
We're ready for the next chapter with Luke and friends.  Hokie smokes!  Yoda survived the Jedi purge!!! Wow...what happened to him?  Sure is neat to see him training Luke.  Yoda seems so dark and jaded.  I wonder how bad it got for him to end up marooned on swampy planet.  Oh...we see Boba Fett grown up now working with Vader.  Hmm...that Emperor in the hologram looks a lot like Darth Sidious...could it be that they are one and the same?  Aww...Han and Leia seem to fallen in love.   Luke will be so sad that he'll have to ignore his romantic feelings for her...but clearly there is still quite the strong connection...she can "feel him" when he calls out for help. Vader reveals he's Luke's father!  That's not true.  That's impossible.  Noooo.  No.  No.(Spoiler Alert)

Episode 3 (Revenge of the Sith):
Vader MUST be introduced in this one..  it's got Sith right in the title. But why would Vader lie and say that he IS Luke's father. We can see from the first shot how close he is with Obi-wan. Uh, oh... Anakin sure is being asked to make lots of compromises.  That's could lead to the Dark Side.  Oh, no!!  Anakin IS Darth Vader!  Ben lied!  And we get to see the Jedi wiped out.   Oh...that's what happened to Yoda!  And we FINALLY learn that LEIA is Luke's sister...and has been the whole time!   Oh, THAT is why Bail Organa is connected to Obi-wan and how he knows where he is.  

Episode 6 (Return of the Jedi):
Now we know the whole backstory of it all!   Time to wrap it all up in a neat bow for an AWESOME CLIMAX!!  Yub nub!!  Celebrate the Light!!

Episode 7 (The Force Awakens):
And now we're ready for the final chapters.  There has been an awakening. Have you felt it?  The dark side and the light. The Force...it's calling to you.  Just let it in.  So good to see old friends long gone.  The past...the future.  Through the ages, I've seen evil take many forms. The Sith. The Empire. Today, it is the First Order. Their shadow is spreading across the galaxy. We must face them. Fight them. All of us.  Oh, no...Solo!  You sacrificed yourself to let your son know how much you love your son.  No!!!!  And Luke...we finally found you.  We know you'll be able to help us get out of this mess.

Solo

With that shocking ending...seems like a good time to reflect on the life of Han Solo.  Seeing him grow his friendships and have adventures is the perfect way to remember and memorialize this selfless hero.

Episode 8 (The Last Jedi):
Oh, Luke...you can't give up hope. We need you. The galaxy needs you.  But a new generation needs to step up to save themselves and their loved ones, too.  Interesting lessons.  You don't win by killing what you hate, but by saving what you love...that's a very Star Warsy lesson, too. And Rey has no past, but a bright future...what a great ending.

Episode 9 (The Rise of Skywalker)

Palpatine is back?  As a clone?  What a great callback to the Dark Empire comics from the 90s.  Very cool!  Ok...I understand now.  Palpatine has been trying to create a vessel to pass into this whole time.  First, Anakin...but Obi-wan destroyed his body.  So, he sired an offspring...but the son of Anakin saved the son of Palpatine.  He tried to keep the grandchild of Palpatine safe, but failed to see that this attention would turn the grandchild of Anakin to the Dark Side.  But, it turns out The Force and The Light are in anyone who let's it in.  The past doesn't matter, just our choice to fight for what is right.  

So, the entire saga has been about evil trying to corrupt good for its own benefit and good fighting back to overcome.  Pretty good story, over all, I'd say.  So,what's on next?

What if Palpatine entered Ben's body in the final fight against Rey? (A Rosie's Revisions Essay)

What if the climax of Rise of The Skywalker ended with Rey and Ben killing Cloned Palpatine, but then his spirit enters Ben?

All of the Jedi have joined Rey to summon the power of the Light Side to vanquish Palpatine...destroying his last cloned body in the process.  But Palpatine's spirit latches onto Ben in a desperate attempt to cling to consciousness.

Rey and Ben-patine fight...as Ben's internal struggle continues.  But this is the struggle he's been preparing himself for a lifetime.  He momentarily regains control of his body.  He tells her she must kill him while he is in control so his spirit will be bound with Palpatine's in The Force...and once his life of crude matter ends, he will bind Palpatine with him in the the madness and choas of the Dark Force spiritual maelstrom...forever vanquished.  He realizes this may be an eternity of anguish for him, too, but it is a sacrifice he's willing to make.

Rey says she can't do it.  He says she must hurry...it is taking all of his Light to hold Palpatine at bay.  The spirits of Luke, Leia and Anakin appear and enter Ben's body to give him enough strength to hold Palpatine within.  Ben's body begins to struggle a bit less as a calmness starts to fill him.  But the strain is still clear.

Rey cries out that still can't do it.  Ben says she must.  He tells her it is the only way to bring balance to the Force.  

He says, I'm being torn apart. I want to be free of this pain.  With tears, pouring down her face, she tells Ben, "I know what I have to do, but I don't know if I have the strength to do it.  Will you help me?"

Ben composes himself solidly, stands up proudly, leans forward and gently kisses her. "Anything."

Rey presses Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber to his chest and he wraps his trembling hands over hers.  He says, "I love you."  She says, "I know, and I love you, too."

They both breathe deeply...both begin glowing with the Light...and together ignite the blade.  His eyes go wide and then his face is flooded with peace as his body slumps to the ground, Rey holding him in her arms as they both collapse to the ground.  The pulsing glow rises from his body.  Rey holds him as she gazes at the spectacle. It begins to separate into five distinct focii of energy.

As the energy takes more familiar shapes, at the center, two glowing forms begin to circle one another...a red form and blue form swirling entity becomes recognizable as the writhing spirit of Palpatine wrapped in a struggle with Ben.

Surrounding them is a triangle with Anakin floating above and Luke and Leia forming the base below.  All three reach out towards the center, pulling them apart.  Palpatine flails with rage and anguish.  Anakin pulls Palpatine upwards and the two merge into one until they dissolve into nothingness...balance finally restored to The Force.  

Luke and Leia pull Ben's spirit down towards his body with Rey, still in tears holding him.  As his spirit re-enters his body, Luke and Leia surround the body with the glowing warmth of The Light Side and Ben awakens with a gasp of breath.

Luke and Leia start to fade peacefully into The Light, both looking content.  He says to them, "Pass on what you have learned.  The Force will be with you." And as Leia fades, she tells them, "We will always be a part of you as long as you have hope."

And then, together, Rey and Ben Solo rise to begin their destiny...together.

**********************************

(A critical acknowledgement...

...this was inspired from key events in the legendary 1995 Empire's End comic, written by Tom Veitch and Mike Beidler produced by Dark Horse comics.  In Veitch's saga starting with the 1991 Dark Empire series (set 6 years after the destruction of the 2nd Death Star), he and Cam Kennedy introduced to the Star Wars narrative that while Luke was recruiting Force sensitive survivors of The Dark Times, the Emperor's dark spirit, which had been ripped from its decaying form by Anakin Skywalker on the second Death Star, re-animated itself in one of the many waiting clones of himself.  

Eventually, Luke confronts Palpatine and destroys the other clone bodies.  Palpatine is shot and killed by Han Solo. As his final clone body dies, he declares his intention to embody Anakin Solo, Leia and Han's youngest child.  But before he can transfer his evil essence one more time, one of Luke's apprentices who was mortally wounded in the fight uses the Force to bind Palpatine's spirit with his own.  He forces Palpatine to spend eternity swirling in the madness and choas of The Dark Side even though he would share that same fate...a sacrifice he's willing to make to rid the Galaxy of Emperor Palpatine once and for all.)

The following is inspired by the leaked script from Colin Trevarrow's treatment for Star Wars Episode 9, which would have been called, "Duel of Fates".  In it, the first act involves our heros, Rey, Finn, Poe, Rose and BB-8 infiltrating Coruscant to disable a galactic jamming device, which explains why no one responded to Leia's call for help at the end of Episode 8. That got me thinking that it would have been interesting if this infiltration had been not to destroy the jammer, but to enter the ruins of the Jedi Temple to modify the Jedi emergency frequency beacon highlighted in Episode 3 to transmit one last transmission from Leia...a final plea for help in the Galaxy's most desperate hour. I can imagine what was meant to be a covert mission to be in and out with no one noticing to something going wrong and the Falcon and our friend being discovered and chased to the surface. On the surface, they blast their way through First Order defenses at the temple and just in the nick of time send the following transmission for the entire civilized Galacy to see:

For those of you who do not know me, I am General Leia Organa Solo. Years ago I served your parents in the fight to restore freedom to our Galaxy. Now I beg of you to help us now in our struggle against the First Order's vile obsession with returning us to those Dark Times. I regret that I am unable to present my request to you in person, but the Resistance has fallen under attack, and I’m afraid my mission to keep our Republic is at it's breaking point. I have embedded information vital to the survival of the Resitance into this transmission. You, my fellow Rebels and Resistors will know how to retrieve it. And for those of you who are new to our cause, never forget that you are not alone. Fear will only win if we stay divided. I have faith in you all. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, citizens of our Galaxy. You’re our only hope. The Force will be with us...always.

Phasma Fleshed Out in Ep. 7 & 8 and more (A Rosie's Revision Essay)

Gwendoline Christie is great!  

Captain Phasma is great!  

I love the look and attitude of the Phasma.  I can feel a dark mirror of Brienne of Tarth oozing out of Christie's delightful performances.  But I do not believe that Phasma's portrayal in The Force Awakens or in The Last Jedi gave her enough to allow her to live up to her potential.  It did not allow us to witness the amazing acting and physical talents of Gwendoline Christie.

Don't get me wrong...when Phasma was on screen, she was just fine.  No major complaints.  I just wanted more of her.  And I don't just mean a more epic and longer fight scene (which would have been nice).  I wanted her story to be more substantial, especially, as it relates to her being a foil and motivator in Finn's Hero's Journey

So, I figured out how Phasma’s story could have been fleshed out a bit more with a small tweak to the story in The Last Jedi which would change her entire character in very interesting ways.

[WARNING: SPOILERS for the films, The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, movie, the novel, Phasma and the comic series, Captain Phasma] 

Ok...imagine The Last Jedi revised so that Phasma replaced DJ in the role of the splicer found on Canto Bight. (Sorry, Mr. del Toro...you and your character were fantastic, but I guess you’d have to wait until Ep. 9 to join the cast.) Imagine in a dark Canto Bight jail cell, Finn and Rose find themselves locked in with Phasma (who they don’t recognize without her mask) and return with HER to Snoke’s ship instead of DJ, the slicer.

{I know it sounds completely random, but, trust me...this is just a part of the epic villainous journey that I think she deserves.}



But how would she have ended up in a dingy jail cell on Canto Bight? It all starts in a trash compactor on the doomed Starkiller Base. What if instead of covering her tracks and returning to her position of prestige, she was forced to flee, in disgrace, out of self-preservation before her cowardly betrayal was, inevitably, discovered by The First Order?

First, we need to go back even further to think about how she was introduced in the film, The Force Awakens. She is presented as a ruthless leader shrouded in mystery and discipline. She submits to orders from her superiors, even massacring defenseless prisoners, adheres to strict procedures, demands unwavering loyalty and inspires her underlings to constantly be striving for superior skills. And she appears to be completely devoted to The First Order.

After she lowers the defenses on Starkiller Base, the greatest weapon the galaxy has ever known, she states that she does not see this as a threat to The First Order, since she is so confident in the skills and loyalty of her troops that she knows that they’ll be able to restore the shields before the pathetic Resistance fighters can do any harm.

Or so she claims. But what if there was another explanation for her actions? What if she was willfully acting against the First Order, as I said...out a simple self-preservation. In the novel Phasma by Delilah Dawson, by exploring her past, we learn of an even darker side than even the sinister faceless evil. We meet a survivor who will stop at nothing if it means improving her chances of survival.

If after The Force Awakens, Phasma had fled Starkiller Base, she could have gone into hiding, starting a new life incognito without her chrome mask. Remember...no one, except possibly Hux, knows her face.

And where would she end up? No one that she knows from her home planet survived, not that she’d go back to that desolate existence regardless. And she knows no one in the Galaxy outside of The First Order. So, she seeks out the only people in the galaxy she has any contact with...the weapon suppliers...the war profiteers. She knows that with their financial influence, they are even more powerful than the First Order...which leads her to Canto Bight. Out a desperation, she hopes to leverage her inner knowledge of The First Order and it’s inner dealings into a position of power. But with no social skills and no real direct contacts, she finds herself unable to make any meaningful connections and ends up discarded on the streets. Poor, alone and seemingly defenseless, she gets caught fighting and ends up in jail, perhaps after killing an attempted mugger or worse.

She ends in a cell thinking herself truly lost and helpless...until who gets thrown in but FN-2187 and some naive Resistance Scum. With a new purpose, she intends to win back favor with The First Order, the only family she’s ever thrived in, by helping to bring their greatest traitor back for vengeance. Perhaps she has visions of falsely claiming it was he who was responsible for their defeat at Starkiller Base.

Finn, of course, has no idea who she is, so, after he and Rose free the faziers, they gladly accept her offer of a ride off Canto Bight with BB-8. Phasma, knowing the codes to enter Snoke’s ship, will lead them both to their doom. But on the journey back, Finn and the unmasked Phasma debate which side is good, which is evil and what lies in the self-preserving gray in the middle.  This would be a similar discussion to what was in the film between Finn and DJ.  The possibilities of this alternate scene between Boyega and Christie seem to be a fountain of dramatic potential.

It is only after she gets them back into her clutches on Snoke’s Star Destroyer does she call him FN-2147 as she alerts the guards to their presence. The next time we see her she has donned her chrome.

The rest of the movie pretty much goes the same. I just think that there was a really interesting missed opportunity if they had given Phasma a more substantial story arc plus a chance to interact with Finn in a fresh new ways. More importantly, the amazing Gwendolyn Christie would have a chance to act in really dramatic scenes who would no longer just give the sense of her talent, but would demonstrate her brilliance.

Mulan: The Later Years

53-year-old Ming-Na Wen joked that maybe she’d reprise her role as the warrior in a live-action sequel, “if it was ‘Mulan: The Later Years.”

FINALLY! A Disney Sequel I'd love to watch!

Star Wars: Episode 8: The Last Jedi (Teaser from SWCO)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB4I68XVPzQ

Luke: "Breathe.
Just breathe.
Now, reach out.
What do ya' see?"

"(Leia: You're my only hope.) Rey: Light.
(Obi-Wan: Seduced by the Dark Side) Rey: Darkness.
(Yoda: Surrounds us, and binds us.) Rey: The Balance"

Luke: "It's so much bigger.

I only know one truth.
It's time for the Jedi...
...to end."

Coming Attractions - The Saga Continues...

With the Star Wars saga alive and well,
we have lots of wonderful teasers and trailers
to help us build our anticipation of where we'll go next
in a galaxy far, far away.

Before we move forward,
I'd like to go back a moment
to remember from where we came
on this wonderful journey.

So, get your speakers on
and your mouse ready to click on full screen,
because...

It's 1976!!!

Coming soon...to a galaxy near you!!!  

Star Wars!!!

A Boy, A Girl and A Universe!!

Star Wars (1976) (Early Teaser)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fltqa5i03M4