Superman Star David Corenswet's Star Wars Viewing Order Is Unhinged (And Kind Of Brilliant)

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David Corenswet just rocketed up Hollywood's A-list. Though you might not know him by name just yet, the actor plays the title role in James Gunn's "Superman," which became a huge hit out of the gate following its theatrical debut last week. And while we can't say for certain what's next for Corenswet, the actor has now gone and revealed he's a huge "Star Wars" fan — not a casual fan, mind you, but one who puts serious thought into the franchise. One need look no further than his suggest viewing order for the Skywalker Saga to grasp our meaning.

In an interview on Brittany Broski's "Royal Court," Corenswet was discussing his beloved "Star Wars" when, at one point, he talked about his preferred viewing order for the primary films that make up the Skywalker Saga. Recall that George Lucas' original 1977 sci-fi masterpiece was originally released as "Star Wars," with the subtitle "Episode IV — A New Hope" being added later. Future installments then adopted that numbering system. This implied that there was more to the story even longer ago in a galaxy far, far away, which eventually came to light in Lucas' prequel trilogy, starting with 1999's "Episode I — The Phantom Menace." As Corenswet explained, he believes that watching the movies in a very specific order offers an opportunity to experience the Skywalker Saga in a different way. Here's what he had to say about it:

"If you're going to introduce new people to them, you should watch them IV, V, I, II, III, VI ...You preserve the twist of — spoiler alert — Darth Vader is his father ... then you watch I through III as a flashback, essentially. Then VI is, it's not as strong as IV and V as a film, but it's a great culmination to the whole thing. It brings it all together. The stakes are bigger if you've seen I through III. It feels more like a saga."

What Corenswet is describing is very close to the so-called "Machete" viewing order of the "Star Wars" movies. That approach rather crucially omits "The Phantom Menace" though, which Corenswet was sure to include in his suggested viewing order.

Per Corenswet, the idea is one would watch "A New Hope" and then "Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back." After that, the viewer would then watch the entire prequel trilogy ("The Phantom Menace," "Episode II — Attack of the Clones," and "Episode III — Revenge of the Sith") before circling back to "Episode VI — Return of the Jedi." The idea is simple enough: After the massive reveal that Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father, we would go back in time to watch Anakin Skywalker's tragic fall to the dark side before getting his redemption arc.

As someone who considers "Return of the Jedi" his favorite "Star Wars" movie, I do take issue with Corenswet's need to downgrade that film in his explanation for the suggested viewing order, and one day, I would love to have a spirited debate with him about it. That having been said, this is the sort of suggestion that comes from someone who is more than a casual fan, that much is certain. It's unorthodox, but it also makes sense and seems like an effective, interesting way to frame the larger story being told here while also embracing both the original and prequel trilogies.

In a lie detector interview with Vanity Fair, Corenswet was even asked by his "Superman" co-star Nicholas Hoult if he would rather return as the Man of Steel in a "Superman" sequel or play a Jedi Knight in a "Star Wars" project. Corenswet replied with confidence, "Jedi Knight in 'Star Wars,'" though the actor also clarified his dream role would be as an X-Wing pilot and not a Jedi. So, again, his love runs deep. Fortunately, Lucasfilm has a lot of "Star Wars" features in the works, including director Shawn Levy's "Star Wars: Starfighter" and several other films at various stages of development. Who knows? Maybe all this public love will get Lucasfilm's attention.

You can pick up "Star Wars: The Complete Saga" on Blu-ray from Amazon.