I've never seen star wars, where do I start

[Motherofmonsters]

Hello,

I've been living a lie and I've never watched star wars. I've got Disney+ but I'm a bit confused were I should start. Should I just watch the newer ones or do I need to go back to the start.

Thank you

Assuming you only want to watch them once, I'd just start at the very beginning and watch them in chronological order

It may be a controversial view but if it were me I’d watch them in order that they were released (so episode IV, a new hope). I just find it a bit more authentic in viewing pleasure!

They are numbered on Disney plus .. I'd watch in order if you didn't watch as a child .

Be aware that 1,2 &3 are the "worst" of the movies.

If you want to try them, I'd start with 4,5,6 then go back to 1,2,3 if you want to.

4,5,6 are the best
1,2,3 not that great
The newer ones are watchable too

Agree with @EllaAlright, watch in order of release or you won’t get the surprises, so iv, vi, i, ii, iii ( stick with it, these 3 aren’t the best), vii, rogue one, viii, solo then ix. Rogue one and solo can be watched whenever.
Enjoy, I’m so envious you get to watch them for the first time

Mark Hamill aka Luke Skywalker agrees, he says to watch in order of production (also makes 1,2&3 tolerable)

4, 5, 6
1, 2, 3
7, 8, 9

Traditionalists grew up with the story of Luke Skywalker first, and knowing his plotlines changes the perspective of watching Anakin's history.

7, 8, 9 feel better matched in style and tone to 4, 5 and 6.

I like 1, 2, 3 too, but there are moments when they went a bit style over substance. They would naturally feel different because of the difference in situation, whereas 7, 8, 9 are more of a natural continuation.

You could try Machete order:
Start off with the first two of the original films, A New Hope (IV) and The Empire Strikes Back (V). Then watch Attack of The Clones (II) and Revenge of The Sith (III) as an extended flash back. Return of The Jedi (VI) to round off the original trilogy. Finish with the new films, The Force Awakens (VII), The Last Jedi (VIII) and The Rise of Skywalker (IX).

This misses out The Phantom Menace (I) which is the worst of them and that means you will skip most of the awful Jar Jar Binks.
Rouge One comes before ep IV chronologically, but don't watch it first. You could slot it in between IV and V as a flash back. Solo could come at the end of the extended flash back (between III and IV in the above order).

456
123
789

Don’t do them in chronological order otherwise you will die of boredom. Far too much talk about trade agreements and other such guff. Watch them in release order!

Ooh I too am super envious of you never watching them before. My dad took me to watch 'The Empire Strikes Back' when I was 6 and I've loved them ever since.

Def watch 4,5,6 first. So, so good.

Definitely do it in the order of release. They are bloody brilliant films and will give you a love for the films that 1 2 and 3 just won’t give you.

I would also skip the phantom menace as it doesn't add much to the story apart from knowing that the main character was a child once. I would watch the original trilogy first then attack of the clones (a bit dull) then the entire clone wars series which is now complete and is simply l excellent, then revenge of the sith which is a actually a great film. Then watch 7,8,9. There are some great books too.

One problem with watching 6 before 2 and 3 is that Lucas messed around with the ending of 6 (and various other bits of 4-6) and in the 'remixed' version someone appears who you will not recognise unless you have seen 2/3.

I too would watch them in the order of release, then if you want, go back and watch them in numerical order later. I think you need to have seen 4,5 &6 to ‘get’ parts of 1-3.

Thanks everyone, looks like 4,5,6 first is the most popular so I will go with that

I recently watched them in chronological order starting with 1,2, 3 and I actually found it worked better as a whole and was much more enjoyable to follow the story in context.

However, I've seen them all before. I couldn't advise watching them that way for the first time because I'd be impressed if you even got through 1, 2 and 3 without getting bored. It's far easier to look past the prequels weaknesses if you are already invested in the world from having watched the originals.

You could try Machete order

If you are going to watch them all do this. It avoids spoilers for the first trilogy in the second, starts strong to get you involved and drops the worst one.

I'm quite envious - would be great to discover them again with fresh eyes.

Will I miss much if I skip 1,2,3 they're not sounding to appealing

The prequels give a lot of background, but you could technically watch them without it. To be fair, if you enjoy a bit of cheese, 1, 2 and 3 are quite fun to watch, I just don't think they're the best representation for the series or will leave you feeling like you want to watch 6 more.

Just don't bother with 123. Pretend they don't exist.

Start with 4,5,6 and the rest if you feel like it.

Will I miss much if I skip 1,2,3 they're not sounding to appealing

They are not Michael Bay bad, just not great either.

Even the meadow scene!? Jesus
I nearly walked out! But I'm a purist!

Release order make more sense to avoid spoilers.

1,2,3 arent bad bad bad just some dodgy writing and the odd bit of wooden acting now and again..