The world has been hooked on the goings-on of a galaxy far, far away since 'A New Hope' was released in 1977.

From the story of Luke Skywalker and the rebellion against the evil empire, right through to Rey, the newest Jedi to grace our screens, and everything that happened in between, an audience of millions worldwide has been captivated by the Star Wars franchise.

But there is one thing that fans the world over will continue to discuss until the end of time - which of the movies is the best?

The newest instalment doesn't count... yet

Episode VIII: The Last Jedi hit our cinema screens today, providing Star Wars fans with their latest dose of intergalactic fun.

The movie fully re-introduces Luke to the franchise, as the desperate rebellion looks to him to help save the galaxy from the villainous First Order.

If 'The Last Jedi' is anywhere near as well-received as its predecessor, 'The Force Awakens', then there will be another contender to be considered as the best of the bunch.

There is already a lot of excitement among the fanbase for the movie, as people get into the Star Wars spirit.

However, it has been out for less than 24 hours, which is nowhere near enough time to properly compare Episode VIII to the other movies.

Everyone knows that you need to watch it at least a dozen times to make such an important decision.

So, for today at least, 'The Last Jedi' is out of the running.

But which is the best?

After the release of 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' in December 2016, roboticstrends.com conducted a poll asking fans which of the eight movies released to date was their favourite.

Readers can upvote and downvote each individual movie, and the results are shown in a list in order of popularity.

Unsurprisingly, 'The Phantom Menace' was at the foot of the list and was the only movie that received more negative votes than positive.

Episode I was panned by critics and Star Wars fans alike, so it is best left forgotten.

Despite receiving very little other than praise, 'Rogue One' ranked a surprising and disappointing sixth on the list, sandwiched between the other two movies in the prequel trilogy. 'Revenge of the Sith' came in fifth and 'Attack of the Clones' had to settle for seventh.

'The Force Awakens' was a welcome reboot of the series, making up slightly for the disappointing prequel films that heavily disappointed fans. Still, it could not beat any of the previous films, so came in fourth place.

The first ever Star Wars film, 'A New Hope', came in third, while 'Return of the Jedi' had to settle for second place.

Which meant that 'The Empire Strikes Back' is the highest ranked Star Wars film of all according to fans.

'Episode V' is also the highest-rated film of all on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, indicating that it is the critics' favourite too.

Early opinion emanating from people who have watched 'The Last Jedi' indicates that it has every chance of being held in even higher regard by fans, but at the moment it is far too early to tell.

But of course, every fan will have his or her own individual opinion on which is the best, and in the end, that is all that really matters.
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