Star Wars Marathon Calculator

There's a very particular date for the Star Wars fan base when celebrations and events occur worldwide, 🎬 movies/TV shows premier, and 🎮 videogames are released. That date is 📅 May the 4th and is right around the corner.

Born from a pun of the original catchphrase "May the force be with you" (May the 4th be with you), we thought this date deserved its own calculator, so you can plan your ⭐Star Wars marathon ahead of time to celebrate it!

If you never got the opportunity to know the gigantic universe 🌌 that George Lucas created, you might be curious about it but get instantly overwhelmed by the amount of Star Wars media there is to watch.

Don't worry. We're here for you. The Star Wars marathon calculator will help you figure out how long it will take to watch (or rewatch, if you've already seen them) a list of the most important Star Wars movies and TV series based on how deep you want to go into the Star Wars universe.

You might want to buckle up and sit tight while we take you for a trip through hyperspace (no need to bypass the compressor, someone in our team already took care of that).

You can ask any Star Wars fan, "How much Star Wars should I watch to get familiar with the universe?" and each one will give you a different answer. As a wise man once said: "many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our point of view".

Luckily for you, we have given ourselves emergency powers so that we are now free to build as we please the path you should follow to become a Jedi! How wonderful is that?

Jokes aside, we have listed various paths for you to pick. Each contains a different assortment of the most canonically relevant films and TV shows (no Ewok movies) based on the amount of 📚 knowledge you wish to gain about the Force (no sea otters in these films either, unfortunately).

Choose your Jedi rank. Don't be scared of overestimating your skills: the universe is complex but welcoming.

• Youngling. A youngling is a Force-sensitive child of any species on their first steps to becoming a Jedi. This choice is the best way to start for someone who knows nothing about Star Wars. What does it contain? Main movies only (Episodes I to IX).
• Padawan. Padawans are young members of the Jedi Order under training by a Jedi Knight or Master. If you choose to be one of them, you'll learn more about some main characters and background regarding the saga's beginning. What do you find here? Main movies and spin-offs (Episodes I to IX and anthology movies: Rogue One and Solo).
• Jedi Knight. Jedis are the guardians of peace and justice. Only the Padawans who completed the Jedi Trials can aspire to become knights. The Star Wars universe starts to expand even more as we explore it. While you might not catch every reference or know every single character (don't worry, no one can catch all of them), the new TV shows set after the end of the original trilogy will reward you with plenty of knowledge about characters and lore that were in the background of the main movies. What are you in for? Every movie, The Mandalorian, and The Book of Boba Fett.
• Jedi Master. The Jedi Council grants this rank only to Knights who have achieved remarkable deeds. If you want to know everything there is to know about the cinematic and television universe, this is the way. What do you find on the list? Same as Jedi Knight, plus The Clone Wars (movie and TV show), The Bad Batch, and Rebels. Not enough?
• Jedi Grand Master. While this is the greatest rank a Jedi can achieve, the shows we included here target a younger audience and don't necessarily expand much on the universe or are extremely relevant. However, these are the missing pieces if you're trying to explore every Star Wars media out there. How do we complete your training? Same media as Master, plus Resistance and Forces of Destiny.

Choose wisely, and our calculator will show you the ways of the Force.

Again, there's no definitive answer. But if we care about the films only, there are three ways you can binge-watch this franchise: 📆 release order, ⏲ chronological order, and 🔪 Machete order.

• Theatrical release order. You start with the original trilogy, watch the prequels, and finish with the latest trilogy to end the Skywalker saga.
  • A New Hope (Episode IV);
  • The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V);
  • Return of the Jedi (Episode VI);
  • The Phantom Menace (Episode I);
  • Attack of the Clones (Episode II);
  • Revenge of the Sith (Episode III);
  • The Force Awakens (Episode VII);
  • The Last Jedi (Episode VIII); and
  • The Rise of Skywalker (Episode IX).
• Chronological order. Not recommended for first-time viewers. The simplest of the watching orders, you follow the movies according to the Star Wars universe timeline 🧭 ➡️. Be aware: this watchlist order spoils "the big reveal" about Star Wars, so you should only choose it if you already know what we're talking about.
  • The Phantom Menace (Episode I);
  • Attack of the Clones (Episode II);
  • Revenge of the Sith (Episode III);
  • A New Hope (Episode IV);
  • The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V);
  • Return of the Jedi (Episode VI);
  • The Force Awakens (Episode VII);
  • The Last Jedi (Episode VIII); and
  • The Rise of Skywalker (Episode IX).
• Machete. This fan-made order adds more depth to the characters behind the original trilogy without spoiling​ ​​​🤫​ that thing before going back to episode VI for a great series conclusion. Fans created and validated the Machete order before the writers even conceived the latest trilogy: we will include the sequel movies at the end, in the in-universe order.
  • A New Hope (Episode IV);
  • The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V);
  • The Phantom Menace (Episode I);
  • Attack of the Clones (Episode II);
  • Revenge of the Sith (Episode III);
  • Return of the Jedi (Episode VI);
  • The Force Awakens (Episode VII);
  • The Last Jedi (Episode VIII); and
  • The Rise of Skywalker (Episode IX).

Why is The Phantom Menace crossed out? The Machete order completely skips it since its creator judged that the movie adds very little to the plot, and it stars Jar Jar Binks. However, only a Sith deals in absolutes: we believe you should watch every movie first and then decide for yourself.

We didn't talk about the TV shows or spin-off movies in this list but the calculator includes them. Just select the order and let the Force guide you!

Pros and cons of binge-watching Star Wars:
Cons:

• ❌ Getting fired from your job;
• ❌ Health problems from sitting too long;
• ❌ Friends/family/relationship problems;
• ❌❌❌❌❌ You learn about the existence of Jar Jar Binks; and
• ❌ You get death threats from some random person on the internet for stating you liked the sequels.

Pros:

• ✔️ Become one with the force;
• ✔️ Memes;
• ✔️ Learn politics, diplomacy, guerrilla warfare tactics, and more;
• ✔️ Dwell into the fantastic universe of star wars;
• ✔️✔️ More memes; and
• ✔️ You get validation from some random person on the internet.

A Star Wars marathon can last up to six days! Even splitting it, it's a lot of time. When using our calculator, you can choose to add some snack breaks between movies for some popcorn (we can calculate those too: check our popcorn calculator) and water (yes, we calculated that too: the water intake calculator would help you even in the sands of Tatooine).

2022 is on a path to becoming a great year for Star Wars fans out there in the galaxy! Earlier this year, we received the first season of The Book of Boba Fett, and now we've got The Skywalker Saga LEGO videogame. Pair that with the upcoming release of the Obi-Wan Kenobi TV series, the third season of both The Mandalorian and The Bad Batch, and also the Andor TV series. There's just so much content coming up.

Of course, the most anticipated SW event in years is the 🧔🧑 Ewan McGregor– Hayden Christensen (and the almighty high ground) reunion in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series after 17 years since we last saw them together in Revenge of the Sith.

All this is great news for Star Wars fans! However, it means more catching up to do for those trying to get into the franchise. At least, if you like it, you have a lot of content to enjoy.

After the marathon, you will probably avoid the TV for some time: check our TV alternatives calculator for some guidance! And maybe, the next time, start a reading challenge.

And that's it for this year's Star Wars marathon calculator. Remember to be kind to every Star Wars fan (no matter how good they claim Episode IX to be), enjoy the movies with your friends and family, and, as always, May the forc-4^th be with you!