7. Star Wars
It's a story so retold its almost not worth typing it, but for completions sake here we go. Depending on which era Lucas you ask, when he was writing was eventually became Star Wars the screenplay was a little too long. He split it in half, then split each part again until he had six or nine different parts, eventually making what was the fourth part (because the first part was probably just boring, unnecessary setup). All of which should help explain why the series' chronology is so off. Although it now sits proudly with films set either side of it, the original Star Wars entered cinemas without an episode number and subtitle; those were added in a 1980 rerelease. Once the film had become an unprecedented success, Lucas went back to his original overarching concept and kept working that design into the rest of the trilogy. Once again depending on what interview you take information from, Lucas never intended to make the prequels, instead going forward to make VII, VIII and IX, only changing his mind because anyone with that much money can do whatever the hell they want, including pump out films set whenever feels profitable. The series is only going to get more out of order with J.J. Abrams Episode VII. How much hell take from Lucas draft opus remains to be seen.