My current recommended order for watching the Star Wars films

[Update 2024: Another old post I can't stand buy for several reason.  I do NOT support the broadcast order of Haruhi anymore and for Star Wars it's a very long story but I still say start with Episodes I-III.]

Goes like this.

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of The Clones
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of The Sith
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of The Jedi
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

You may be surprised by that order.  My long advocacy for viewing the Prequel Trilogy first is not because of some unconditional principle that everything should be watched in Chronological order.  It's because I view the SW Prequels as being distinct from (most) other Prequels, they can work as their own independent Trilogy.  And because what I like about the OT mostly comes from watching them knowing the PT story.

The Chronicles of Narnia I think should be read in the order Lewis wrote them.  I don't know what order I consider ideal for reading Paul Feval's Blackcoats series.  But like Digibro I think the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya should be, on it's first viewing at least, watched in it's original broadcast order.

And in the case of Fate/Zero, the main reason I think it can make a better entry point into that saga then any version of Fate/Stay Night, isn't that it's set Chronologically before it, or even really the fact that it explains the rules and lore up front better.  It's the fact that it lacks the High School Harem Visual Novel aspects which might turn off many interested in that kind of story.  They weren't a problem for me, but I'm a Otaku, I'm used to it.  But many others who might be interested in a story about Hermetic Magick, the Holy Grail and a female King Arthur, and Gilgamesh as a Lucifer figure, are not so used to it.

I keep hearing people say that Rogue One was the first true stand alone Star Wars film.  I find that amusing, because A New Hope was the only one that might have had no choice but to stand alone.  While I personally feel The Phantom Menace still works best of all the SW movies as a stand alone.

While the Prequel Trilogy works great as Prequels if watched as such.  It's Rogue One that works only as a Prequel, I really would not recommend anyone view it as their first SW film.  So much about it, especially it's end, is predicated as us seeing things we recognize.  And the ending would clearly be read by such a person as a sequel hook. 

And I really would not recommend cramming it in-between Episodes III and IV.  While it's Rogue One that timeline wise ended right where ANH begins.  ROTS ended there thematically and narratively, and so I always want to go right to Luke and Leia's story after finishing it, Rogue One would be a diversion.

However I can also say that I would NOT recommend in the future when we have the entire New Trilogy having Rogue One interrupt it's viewing order either.

Update May 12th 2018:

Well the change to this made by The Last Jedi's release was what I expected.  I haven't seen Solo yet and probably won't for quite awhile, I really don't care about it.