Generations of moviegoers have grown up on the Star Wars movies, as well as the live-action shows that have been released for those with a Disney+ subscription. After years away, the franchise is back on the big screen thanks to The Mandalorian and Grogu hitting theaters, coming from the minds of Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni. And those two filmmaker recently debated one of the biggest questions in the galaxy: which order should one watch the Skywalker Saga in?
Favreau and Filoni are Star Wars super fans, who are responsible or bringing together the wildly popular Mandalorian franchise. In an interview with Collider about their new movie, the pair of filmmakers were asked to settle the debate: should Star Wars be watched chronologically or in the order they were released? Favreau weighed in first, with the Elf director saying:
It's less controversial for me. I feel like four, I like watching it in the order I watched them in. But I think it also builds in the tone. Even though chronologically it's one through nine. The technology of the filmmaking and the voice of the storyteller has changed. So I actually think the order that they were released in.
Some points were made. In addition being able to see how technology advanced, watching the Star Wars movies in the order they hit theaters also allows for its story to play out the way that George Lucas originally intended. We first meet Darth Vader as the villain of the 4-6, before the prequel trilogy shows how Anakin Skywalker went from a Force Sensitive young boy to the terror of the galaxy. This was the way many of us longterm fans watched the story play out, and Jon Favreau appears to be a bit of a purist in this regard.
In the same interview, Dave Filoni also shared his two cents about the ongoing Star Wars debate. In his words:
There's no wrong way to watch Star Wars, Jon. There's no wrong way. I don't really have a bias, I think it's really up to the parents and I wouldn't make that choice for them. I would probably, at this point, say start with one. I'll just ask George.
Another solid point. Star Wars is an embarrassment of riches, and there's something positive to take out of watching the Skywalker Saga in both chronological and release date order. As Filoni put it, it's basically a win-win situation.
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While fans might continue debating this "controversial" question, there likely isn't one definitive answer. As Filoni pointed out, both watch orders have something to offer, and there's no "bad" way to watch the Skywalker Saga. It's just a matter of preference for whoever is pushing play.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. The movie wasn't super connected to the overall franchise, and it should be interesting to see if Starfighter follows suit.
