The Phantom Menace
The dramatic silence, the John Williams score, the awesome pod racing footage - this trailer quickly became one of the most viewed of all time when it was released.
And yet with retrospect the warning signs were there; Jar Jar is ludicrous even in trailer sized chunks, there are a few too many knowing nods to the sequels and the decision to include Anakin meeting Obi Wan is bizarre.
Still - at least we didn't get any mention of trade federations...
Trailer rating: 7/10
Attack of the Clones
Attack of the Clones' trailer was clearly trying to win us back - a grown up Anakin who, it's at pains to point out, is arrogant and, well, a bit of a dick (foreshadowing!). There's a Fett mention when we still yearned for Boba's back story and some huge shots of armies.
But! There's also a flying R2 D2, CGI overload and a bit too much reliance on Yoda's sage comments. A bad trailer, this makes for.
Trailer rating: 5.5/10
Revenge of the Sith
By Revenge of the Sith we were all a bit jaded about how far Star Wars had fallen - but of all the prequel trailers, it's easily the most competent.
Plenty of Palpatine and a Vader arrival, a bit of intrigue and more evil than you can shake a lightsaber at.
This is a trailer that actually manages to make you want to go and watch the film again.
Trailer rating: 8/10
The Force Awakens
Can we speak for almost anyone and say that this was well worth the wait?
All 2 minutes and 19 seconds of more Star Wars footage, after the horror of the prequels, was a directed thing of beauty (and ingenious marketing) that you can watch over and again.
There's the giant vistas, the quaint naivete (and awful memory) of the new series protagonists Rey and Finn, and who could forget Poe Dameron getting mind-scrambled by new Dark-Sider-to-hate Kylo Ren?
The trailer is packed with so much more context as to who the film's new characters are and how series old timers will find their way back into the story, that it's practically a primer on the movie. And it managed all that without spoiling the plot?
Trailer Rating: 9/10
This article was first published in November 2015
