How long will it take to watch every Star Wars movie?
By Tom Farr
For Star Wars fans, a marathon of all the films is like a rite of passage, and with 11 total live-action films now, a Star Wars movie marathon is sure to be a significant, though totally worth it, time commitment. All of the films are available for streaming on Disney+, but in exactly what order should you watch them in? And how long would it take to watch it all?
Star Wars movie order viewing options
The main Skywalker Saga consists of nine episodes chronicling the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker, the journey of Anakin’s two children, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, restoring peace to the galaxy, and the tragic legacy of Darth Vader in the fall and eleventh-hour redemption of his grandson Ben Solo.
As most Star Wars fans know, however, George Lucas didn’t begin telling the story of the Skywalker family with Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Instead, the story began with Episode IV: A New Hope, setting up a story with Luke Skywalker as the hero, and many Star Wars fans would argue that this is the best place to start watching all of the Star Wars movies and then finish watching them in release order, all the way to Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.
Another option is called “The Machete Order.” In this order, you watch Episodes IV and V, complete with the shocking reveal at the end of The Empire Strikes Back that Darth Vader is Luke’s father before going back to watch Episodes II and III to get Darth Vader’s backstory followed by Return of the Jedi and the rest of the Skywalker Saga. The Machete Order eliminates Episode I: The Phantom Menace and doesn’t take into consideration the two non-Skywalker Saga films, but you can easily throw those in after watching through The Rise of Skywalker.
How long to watch all the Star Wars movies?
Regardless of the order in which you choose to watch the live-action Star Wars films, the total viewing time for all of the movies is 25 hours and 7 minutes. Below is the total running time for all of the movies in order of their release.
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
The prequels
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 + spinoffs
Episode VII: The Force Awakens – 2 hours 15 minutes
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – 2 hours 14 minutes
Episode VIII: The Last Jedi – 2 hours 32 minutes
Solo: A Star Wars Story – 2 hours 15 minutes
Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker – 2 hours 22 minutes
light. Related Story. Star Wars by the numbers: Episode IV vs. IX
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