The Machete Order is a unique order to watch Star Wars (and my personal favorite order to watch the movies) as it mixes the release order and chronological order in a way that optimizes the cohesiveness of the entire saga.

Viewers would watch the first two original trilogy films (Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) and Episode IV: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)), which introduce the viewer to the world of Star Wars and the Skywalker family.

Next up is the prequel trilogy (Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002), and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)) and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), which act as flashbacks detailing the origin and development of Anakin Skywalker up to the events of Episode IV. Viewers would then cap off the Darth Vader arc with the final original trilogy movie: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983).

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) is next as it shows the origins of Han Solo before viewers revisit him, Luke, and Leia in the sequel trilogy (Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017), and Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)), which also introduces the next generation of heroes and concludes the main Skywalker saga.