Star Wars (or Marvel, for that matter) - where to start?

[bsmcneil]

I'm serious (oh, I just noticed a cool new feature as this is my first thread since the Dis changes - I like the "is this already being discussed" thing). Back to my question(s): I'm not really a Star Wars person (I'm adding Marvel because as I started to write this, I realized that (A) it's true for me and (B) Marvel sort of seems like the 21st century Star Wars) - so where would I, if I wanted to, begin. I realize there's the original trilogy (which is the middle of a larger set of 9? Do I need to watch all of that to get into things like the new D+ shows). I have the basics down (if only from the Phineas and Ferb Star Wars episode/movie) - which is that Darth Vader, Chewbacca, and R2D2 exists. I watched whatever came out in the 90s (episode 1 and maybe 2) with my HS best friend but understood none of it and feel like that might just confuse me more).

More than anything, I'd like a good handle on it so I can introduce the kids. Do I really need to watch 9 Star Wars movies to catch up (my attention span is not inclined to movie-length things)? Same thing with Marvel - what/how/when does one jump in?

 

[BrianL]

I'm serious (oh, I just noticed a cool new feature as this is my first thread since the Dis changes - I like the "is this already being discussed" thing). Back to my question(s): I'm not really a Star Wars person (I'm adding Marvel because as I started to write this, I realized that (A) it's true for me and (B) Marvel sort of seems like the 21st century Star Wars) - so where would I, if I wanted to, begin. I realize there's the original trilogy (which is the middle of a larger set of 9? Do I need to watch all of that to get into things like the new D+ shows). I have the basics down (if only from the Phineas and Ferb Star Wars episode/movie) - which is that Darth Vader, Chewbacca, and R2D2 exists. I watched whatever came out in the 90s (episode 1 and maybe 2) with my HS best friend but understood none of it and feel like that might just confuse me more).

More than anything, I'd like a good handle on it so I can introduce the kids. Do I really need to watch 9 Star Wars movies to catch up (my attention span is not inclined to movie-length things)? Same thing with Marvel - what/how/when does one jump in?

I highly recommend starting with the Original Trilogy, then the Prequels, then Sequels - release order is probably the best way. Chronological order might be confusing as later material relies a little on knowledge from the previous stuff (like th Prequels would totally spoil a certain "twist" in the OT, though if you know that already it doesn't matter as much. For Star Wars I would watch them in this order, but I have noted chronology where it matters:

Episode IV A New Hope
Episode V The Empire Strikes BAck
Episode VI Return of the Jedi

Episode I The Phantom Menace
Episode II Attach of the Clones
Episode III Revenge of the Sith

Episode VII The Force Awakens
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (takes place before Episode IV)
Episode VIII The Last Jedi
Solo: A Star Wars Story (takes place before Rogue One)
Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker

Two of those are side stories and take place before the Original Trilogy. If you want to get into the shows too, I wil list them:

The Clone Wars movie and series (takes place between Epsiodes II & III but series is not presented in chronological order, particularly the earlier episodes)
Rebels (takes place before Rogue One & Episode IV)
Resistance (takes place before & after Episode VII)
The Mandalorian (takes place after Episode VI)
The Bad Batch (takes palce after Episode III)
The Book of Bobo Fett (takes place after Episode VI and in-line with The Mandalorian)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (takes place before Epsidoe IV)

Wow, so there is more Star Wars than I thought when you write it all out. It's still nowhere close to Marvel. Marvel has a lot of movies, and they are all tied in, but some are not as crucial to the "Infinity Saga" which is comprised of the first three phases. I would just start with Iron Man as that is the foundation. I'll just give you the starting order:

Iron Man
The Incredible Hulk
Iron Man 2
Thor
Captain America: The First Avenger
The Avengers

Start with that - Phase 1 - and you should get the hang of it. Not every movie is in chronological order, but most are close except for the flashback type movies, like Captain America: The First Avenger which takes place during WWII. Feel free to pop in if you have questions.

Have fun!

 

[supernova]

If you think about it, Star Wars was originally released n what was then a loose "order". Marvel was even worse, with a bunch of stand-alone films weaved into a pointless "cinematic universe" nonsense. Just watch the movies however you want. You can build your own connetions later. When they were making Iron Man 2 (awful film, don't bother with it) no one was worried about where it might someday fit into a then non-existent universe.

 

[MissDisney21]

I don’t know much about Star Wars or Marvel but I did watch Into the Spiderverse with Miles Morales with my 2 boys ages 8 and 10 and we all liked it! I can’t wait for the second movie installment to come out.

 

[bsmcneil]

I highly recommend starting with the Original Trilogy, then the Prequels, then Sequels - release order is probably the best way. Chronological order might be confusing as later material relies a little on knowledge from the previous stuff (like th Prequels would totally spoil a certain "twist" in the OT, though if you know that already it doesn't matter as much. For Star Wars I would watch them in this order, but I have noted chronology where it matters:

Episode IV A New Hope
Episode V The Empire Strikes BAck
Episode VI Return of the Jedi

Episode I The Phantom Menace
Episode II Attach of the Clones
Episode III Revenge of the Sith

Episode VII The Force Awakens
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (takes place before Episode IV)
Episode VIII The Last Jedi
Solo: A Star Wars Story (takes place before Rogue One)
Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker

Two of those are side stories and take place before the Original Trilogy. If you want to get into the shows too, I wil list them:

The Clone Wars movie and series (takes place between Epsiodes II & III but series is not presented in chronological order, particularly the earlier episodes)
Rebels (takes place before Rogue One & Episode IV)
Resistance (takes place before & after Episode VII)
The Mandalorian (takes place after Episode VI)
The Bad Batch (takes palce after Episode III)
The Book of Bobo Fett (takes place after Episode VI and in-line with The Mandalorian)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (takes place before Epsidoe IV)

Wow, so there is more Star Wars than I thought when you write it all out. It's still nowhere close to Marvel. Marvel has a lot of movies, and they are all tied in, but some are not as crucial to the "Infinity Saga" which is comprised of the first three phases. I would just start with Iron Man as that is the foundation. I'll just give you the starting order:

Iron Man
The Incredible Hulk
Iron Man 2
Thor
Captain America: The First Avenger
The Avengers

Start with that - Phase 1 - and you should get the hang of it. Not every movie is in chronological order, but most are close except for the flashback type movies, like Captain America: The First Avenger which takes place during WWII. Feel free to pop in if you have questions.

Have fun!

So - this is super helpful (for instance, I would've assumed it was 4-6, 1-3, 7-9 and then ... maybe the year they were released (Solo, Rogue One, Mandalorian - I don't know). I think that's where I get lost. So, maybe my real question is - if I didn't watch 9 movies, would I be completely over my head in trying to watch the new stuff (Solo, Mandalorian, Boba Fett - basically the past couple of years/D+ stuff).

All of your post was helpful - I hadn't realized Marvel had a phase. With them, or SW, are there any that you would just skip because it's universally panned and doesn't advance the story? My kids have also talked about getting into the HP series [sic] and I'm aware that they're FAR more into movies than I am, lol.

Thanks again, @BrianL

 

[bsmcneil]

If you think about it, Star Wars was originally released n what was then a loose "order". Marvel was even worse, with a bunch of stand-alone films weaved into a pointless "cinematic universe" nonsense. Just watch the movies however you want. You can build your own connetions later. When they were making Iron Man 2 (awful film, don't bother with it) no one was worried about where it might someday fit into a then non-existent universe.

This helps, too - just knowing what I can skip is good! I also didn't know if you had to watch them all - for instance, I don't seem to viscerally care for the Doctor of Strangeness trailers I'm seeing. But, I could see myself liking some of the other stuff. Sounds like I can pick or choose more with Marvel.

 

[BrianL]

So - this is super helpful (for instance, I would've assumed it was 4-6, 1-3, 7-9 and then ... maybe the year they were released (Solo, Rogue One, Mandalorian - I don't know). I think that's where I get lost. So, maybe my real question is - if I didn't watch 9 movies, would I be completely over my head in trying to watch the new stuff (Solo, Mandalorian, Boba Fett - basically the past couple of years/D+ stuff).

All of your post was helpful - I hadn't realized Marvel had a phase. With them, or SW, are there any that you would just skip because it's universally panned and doesn't advance the story? My kids have also talked about getting into the HP series [sic] and I'm aware that they're FAR more into movies than I am, lol.

Thanks again, @BrianL

In order to understand THe Mandalorian/Boba Fett you could probably just watch the OT as they take place shortly afterward. That said they do reference the prequels a lot in certain ways. The sequesl are less tied into anything else becuase they haven't gotten to adapting a lot in that timeframe.

Pesroanlly, I love them all and don't agree that any are "universally panned." On the Internet there has always been a large and very vocal group that absolutely hated the prequels, usually so dramatically that they "ruined their childhood" etc. The same drama cropped up with the Sequels, but nothing they ever made could have ever satisfied certain fans. Each set of movies was made for the kids at the time, and as the prequel kids have grown up there is more appreciation. What you have to remember is that Star Wars was always kid friendly - George Lucas himself said it was for kids - or really the kid in all of us. I certainly wouldn't skip any of them due to quality - they're all great! Others might tell you different, but at least make up you own mind.

Marvel is currently in Phase 4. Phases 1 through three somprise "The infinity Saga" as there is an overall story about the Infinity Stones, though not every movie really ties into that, except for maybe one of the codas (rememebr that Marvel movies ALWAYS have after-the-credits scenes, many of which are quite important). Most of them take place in loose chronological order, with a few taking place in a previous era (noted) Here is the full list:

Phase 1
Iron Man
The Incredible Hulk
Iron Man 2
Thor
Captain America: The First Avenger (WWII)
The Avengers

Phase 2
Iron Man 3
Thor: The Dark World
Captain America: The Winter Solider
Guardians of the Galaxy
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Ant-Man

Phase 3
Captain America: Civil War
Doctor Strange
Guardians of the Galazy Vol. 2
Spider-Man Homecoming
Thor: Ragnaok
Black Panther
Avengers: Infinity War
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Captain Marvel (mid-1990s)
Avengers: Endgame
Spider-Man: Far From Home

Phase 4
Black Widow (between Infinity War and Endgame)
Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Eternals
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Doctor Strange in the Multivers of Madness
Thor: Love and Thunder
---UPCOMING---
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Phase 5
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
The Marvels
Blade
Captain America: New World Order
Thunderbolts

Phase 6
Fantastic Four
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty
Avengers: Secret Wars

 

[supernova]

This helps, too - just knowing what I can skip is good! I also didn't know if you had to watch them all - for instance, I don't seem to viscerally care for the Doctor of Strangeness trailers I'm seeing. But, I could see myself liking some of the other stuff. Sounds like I can pick or choose more with Marvel.

Didn't much care for the first one, as it was too heavy on the CGI background nonsense. Skipped the second one, and probably the next few too. This whole "multiverse" nonsense just isn't doing it for me.

 

[BrokeMack]

If you think about it, Star Wars was originally released n what was then a loose "order". Marvel was even worse, with a bunch of stand-alone films weaved into a pointless "cinematic universe" nonsense. Just watch the movies however you want. You can build your own connetions later. When they were making Iron Man 2 (awful film, don't bother with it) no one was worried about where it might someday fit into a then non-existent universe.

Hot take: IM2 is better than 3.

 

[supernova]

Hot take: IM2 is better than 3.

Neither was anything spectacular.