How Long Would It Take to Watch All the Star Wars Movies?
Star Wars is one of the most iconic, influential, and well-known science fiction series. The first Star Wars movie was released in 1977 and since then 11 more were made. The franchise was created by George Lucas and it swept the world by storm with its special effects, theme, and revered characters. To this day, almost 55 years later the Star Wars fandom is still strong and prices of mint-condition Star Wars action figures just keep growing. Let’s see how long it would take to watch all Star Wars movies if you want to relive the magic again or experience it for the first time.
To watch all 12 Star Wars movies would take you exactly 28 hours and 3 minutes. There are 11 live-action movies and 1 animated movie. Every movie can be found on Disney+.
For easier rewatching, in this article, you can find each individual run time of Star Wars movie and trilogy. And then we are going to tackle a very controversial topic- what is the best order to watch the movies. Consider this article the ultimate guide to organizing a Star Wars movie marathon!
Run Time of Each Star Wars Movie
The focus of most films is the so-called Skywalker Saga consists of nine episodes telling the story of the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker, the journey of Anakin’s children, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, and the battle to restore peace to the galaxy, and the tragic legacy of Darth Vader and redemption of his grandson Ben Solo.
Everything started back in 1977 with the original trilogy: Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. It would take you 7 hours and 36 minutes to watch the OG movies in one go.
In 1999 the first of three prequels movies came out. We all know that the prequels don’t have a reputation as being good films in any aspect. But still, there are some charming elements and a few good unintentional laughs. The movies are called: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Episode II: Attack of the Clones, and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and they have a combined watch time of 6 hours and 58 minutes.
The last three movies in the Skywalker saga aka sequel trilogy: Episode VII: The Force Awakens, Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, and Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker. The newer additions to the franchise started coming out in 2015 and ended in 2019. These three movies have a run time of 7 hours and 9 minutes.
To watch the Skywalker saga would take 22 hours and 26 minutes of your day. The longest to watch is the prequel trilogy and the shortest is the sequel trilogy.
But, the watchathon wouldn’t be complete without the two non-Skywalker films: Rogue One and Solo. Rouge One is 2 hours and 14 minutes long and Solo is 2 hours and 15 minutes. Together that’s 4 hours and 29 minutes we have to add to the watch time.
And we can’t forget the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars from 2008 that clocks in at 1 hour and 38 minutes.
In the end, if we add everything up, all 12 Star Wars movies take 28 hours and 33 minutes to watch. Which sounds like a hell of a party to me.
Below is the run time of all individual films:
Original trilogy:
- Episode IV: A New Hope – 2 hours 5 minutes
- Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back – 2 hours 7 minutes
- Episode VI: Return of the Jedi – 2 hours 16 minutes
Prequel trilogy:
- Episode I: The Phantom Menace – 2 hours 16 minutes
- Episode II: Attack of the Clones – 2 hours 22 minutes
- Episode III: Revenge of the Sith – 2 hours 26 minutes
Sequel trilogy:
- Episode VII: The Force Awakens – 2 hours 15 minutes
- Episode VIII: The Last Jedi – 2 hours 32 minutes
- Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker – 2 hours 22 minutes
Others:
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars – 1 hour and 38 minutes.
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – 2 hours 14 minutes
- Solo: A Star Wars Story – 2 hours 15 minutes
Where & How to Watch Star Wars Movies?
For the easy part of the question; where to watch the movies? Every movie can be found on Disney+ in stunning 4K with Dolby Vision and Atmos support for the best viewing experience in the comfort of your own home. Now for the hard part; how to watch the movies, in what order?
There are a few schools of thought. Some claim it has to be viewed in the release order aka the purist way:
Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
The pros of this are that you will be able to experience the thrill of Star Wars as most of the fans who kept up with it in theatres. Plus, the shocking reveal at the end of The Empire Strikes Back will still be a plot twist (if it is your first viewing).
The next option is to watch it in chronological order, and yes this is the way George Lucas approves. Nevertheless, this way the saga looks much more inconsistent. Chronological order is:
Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
The pros are that George Lucas has worked on the movies over the year and made some tweaks to make them more consistent following the release of the prequels. In my opinion, it won’t make anything more clear when it comes to the story, but if Lucas says so it must be right.
There is a third way of watching, called The Machete order. It is pretty brutal, cutting out Episode I: The Phantom Menace and doesn’t include the two non-Skywalker Saga films.
Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Pros of The Machete order are that the father reveal is still a plot twist, the Luke narrative is feel-good and wholesome, and the redemption finale is also preserved. So why not watch it like this once in a while.
