Since 1978, Star Wars has changed the landscape of how we view science-fiction films. Watching people fight with laser swords and interact with a variety of aliens takes us to an unbelievable galaxy we could've never imagined. George Lucas created Star Wars from a unique perspective that includes three distinct trilogies and numerous shows that further explore the time in between them.
There's a long-running debate as to how fans should watch Star Wars. Is it by release date or chronological order? Some fans might think watching everything in chronological order is blasphemy, but don't let that get to you. Watching Star Wars in chronological order helps viewers fully understand what's happening and learn about the many different characters in this universe. So, without further ado, here's the correct chronological order to watch all the Star Wars movies and shows from beginning to end.
Updated April 30, 2023 by Avery Feyrer: Disney has announced a plethora of Star Wars movies and shows coming in the next few years that will tell many interesting stories in a galaxy far, far away. We've updated this article to include a section that details all the upcoming movies and shows with a brief description of the synopsis.
The Phantom Menace
Following the overwhelming cultural success of the Star Wars trilogy, George Lucas planned to develop another trilogy that would fill in the history related to episodes four through six. This trilogy turned into the prequels and focused on Anakin Skywalker, the young Jedi before he became Darth Vader. The Phantom Menace showed the galaxy peacefully and under the Jedi's protection and guidance.
However, evil is stirring and civil war is imminent. While the Separatists forge ahead toward war, a young Obi-Wan Kenobi and his master, Qui-Gon Jinn, find a boy in the desert world of Tatooine who has the potential to be the most potent Force user ever. The Phantom Menace also introduces one of the most iconic Star Wars villains in Darth Maul.
Attack Of The Clones
Set ten years after the events of The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones marks the beginning of the end for peace in the galaxy. The Separatists have fully engaged in war with the Galactic Republic and the Jedi have gone from being wise sages to fearsome warriors. Now 19 years old, Anakin Skywalker has learned quite a bit about the Force from Obi-Wan Kenobi, but he’s still a Padawan.
While Obi-Wan is sent to investigate rumors of a Clone army, Anakin is tasked with protecting Senator Padme Amidala on her home world of Naboo. Anakin and Padme start to develop romantic feelings for one another that would prove fatal in the future.
The Clone Wars (Film)
The Clone Wars movie was released in 2008 and served as a gap-filler during the three years between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. The film was also the jumping-off point for The Clone Wars animated series. Now deep into the galactic war, the Republic and the Confederacy are struggling to gain control of premier space trade routes that are controlled by Jabba the Hutt.
The animated film features Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Ahsoka, Count Dooku, and many others. This was also the beginning of Ahsoka’s tutelage under Anakin as his Padawan.
The Clone Wars (Series)
Following the success of The Clone Wars animated film, George Lucas created an animated series of the same name. The series continued to flesh out the intense war between the Confederacy and the Galactic Republic, as well as the dynamic between Ahsoka and Anakin. Even though Anakin isn’t a Jedi Master yet, he takes Ahsoka under his wing as his Padawan learner.
The series had a total of seven seasons and ends with Palpatine executing Order 66 to exterminate the Jedi. The final arc of the season occurs during the same time as Revenge of the Sith, so many references from the film would appear in the final episodes.
Revenge Of The Sith
The final film of the prequel trilogy, Revenge of the Sith concludes the tale of Anakin Skywalker’s descent into the dark side. We see Anakin slowly become more and more brainwashed by Palpatine. The Senator influences the Jedi Knight through his relationship with Padme and takes advantage of Anakin’s dark dreams of Padme and his mother dying.
While Anakin continues to spiral toward the dark side, Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Clone armies are nearing victory against the Separatists. However, everything was going according to plan for the villainous Darth Sidious. The dark lord activates a hidden command for the clones to attack the Jedi, wiping out the majority of them in an instant. The film concludes with an epic battle between Anakin and Obi-Wan that ends with the birth of Darth Vader.
The Bad Batch
One of the most recent Star Wars shows, The Bad Batch follows a team of elite clone troopers called Clone Force 99 as they tackle various missions following the Clone Wars. The members of Clone Force 99 all had unique special abilities that were formed genetically during The Clone Wars series.
The Bad Batch returned in 2023 with a second season that takes place several months after the events on Kamino. The Disney+ series continues to focus on the Bad Batch encountering all kinds of friends and foes throughout the Empire.
Solo
The original trilogy introduced one of the most famous characters in pop culture history, Han Solo. When we first met him, he was already a well-known smuggler up to his blaster pistol in debt. Solo is the origin story of Han learning the ropes of being an outlaw, finding his place in the galaxy, and how he received his nickname.
The film sheds light on how Han teams up with Chewbacca after we got an early glimpse of the Wookie in Revenge of the Sith, and how Han meets fellow space pirate Lando Calrissian.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
This Disney+ series continued to focus on the time period between the prequels and the original trilogy and follows Obi-Wan Kenobi. After failing to stop Anakin on Mustafar in Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan tasks himself with watching over his son on the desert world of Tatooine.
Set ten years after Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan is haunted by his fallen Padawan in his dreams, while also being hunted by the newly formed Empire. However, Obi-Wan must rescue Princess Leia from the Empire and survive a confrontation with Darth Vader.
Rebels
Taking place over a decade after Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars Rebels continues filling in the gaps before the original trilogy. This animated show focuses on the Galactic Empire searching for Jedi and trying to snuff out the growing rebellion.
The series follows a group of rebels attacking Imperial forces around planets that are infiltrated by the Empire. We see a few familiar faces throughout the series like Darth Vader, Bail Organa, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Princess Leia.
Andor
What truly sparks a revolution? Well, that question is answered in the Disney+ series, Andor. Following the titular character, Andor is a prequel series set five years before the film Rogue One. Diego Luna returns to play Cassian Andor, a thief who goes from only caring about himself to wanting to save every person in the galaxy.
The Empire has started imposing its will and stripping innocents of their freedoms and enforcing a police state. Andor is arguably the most adultStar Wars series to date, as we see people murdered in cold blood and imprisoned for no reason. It’s a thrilling adventure that explores the dark beginnings of the Empire.
Rogue One
In A New Hope, Princess Leia sends the Death Star plans to Obi-Wan and requests his aid. But how does she get the plans herself? Rogue One has the answer for you. The film is set just a week before A New Hope and follows the ragtag group of rebels who somehow manage to steal the Death Star plans from the Empire.
With rumors of a superweapon that can destroy entire planets, it was imperative that the rebellion find a weakness for it. The ending of Rogue One leads almost immediately into the beginning of A New Hope.
A New Hope
The original Star Wars movie, later renamed A New Hope, tells the beginning story of Luke Skywalker joining the rebellion to take down the evil Empire. Luke discovers a message from a woman in an R2 unit he bought and seeks the advice of Old Ben Kenobi, who turns out to be the Jedi warrior Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Luke learns more about his real parentage from Obi-Wan, which further pushes him toward the rebel cause. Just as the name of the film outlines, A New Hope is about finding the light in a sea of darkness to bring peace back to the galaxy.
The Empire Strikes Back
Arguably the greatest Star Wars film ever, The Empire Strikes Back picks up after the rebels' key victory over the Empire in the last movie. Now hunkered down on the ice planet of Hoth, the rebels strategize their next move. However, the Empire goes on the offensive and deals a heavy blow to the rebellion.
With the rebels scrambling, Luke Skywalker jets off to the swamp planet Dagobah to continue his Jedi training with the exiled Master Yoda. Unfortunately, Darth Vader kidnaps Han Solo and Leia, so Luke must cut his training short to face him and learn a shocking truth.
Return Of The Jedi
Capping off the original trilogy is Return of the Jedi. After failing to save Han Solo and Leia from Darth Vader, Luke traces his captive friends back to Tatooine. The crime lord Jabba the Hutt has taken the pair in his possession but soon faces the swift retribution of a Jedi Knight.
In the meantime, the Empire has quickly rebuilt a functioning Death Star that will once again threaten the safety of the entire galaxy. The rebellion takes the fight to the forest moon of Endor to destroy key generators that power the battle station. Return of the Jedi signals the end of the Empire and the beginnings of a newfound peace in the stars.
The Mandalorian
Taking place five years after Return of the Jedi, The Mandalorian was the first live-action Star Wars series developed by Disney. Unlike previous content in a galaxy far, far away that focuses on the Skywalker lineage, we get reintroduced to the fearsome warriors from the world of Mandalore.
The show follows Din Djarin, a lone bounty hunter who’s hired by still-existing Imperial factions to find a mysterious child. Instead, Din chooses to protect the child and tries to escape the Imperial forces. The Mandalorian shows that even though Darth Vader and the Emperor have been vanquished, evil still lingers in the galaxy and will spread if left unchecked.
The Book of Boba Fett
Many speculated whether or not we’d seen the last of the notorious bounty hunter Boba Fett. But somehow, Fett emerged from the Sarlacc Pit and teams up with Fennec Shand to reclaim the territory that Jabba the Hutt once controlled.
The Book of Boba Fett explores how the bounty hunter survived in the deserts of Tatooine and how his story is connected to Din Djarin and the warriors of Mandalore. The series contains flashbacks from Fett’s days after escaping the pit from Return of the Jedi and concurrently with The Mandalorian.
Resistance
Star Wars Resistance is an animated series that follows a New Republic pilot named Kazuda Xiono. A new evil has begun to grow in the galaxy in the form of the First Order and Kazuda was recruited by the Resistance to spy on them.
The series takes place before the events of the sequel trilogy and concurrently through the films in the later episodes. Resistance shows another view into the rebellious group in undermining yet another evil administration.
The Force Awakens
Set three decades after Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens is the beginning of a new Star Wars trilogy. The First Order has risen from the ashes of the Empire and the galaxy is once again brought to its knees.
Supreme Leader Snoke and his apprentice Kylo Ren lead the First Order forces, but a new rebel group called the Resistance stands in their way. We’re introduced to a brand-new cast of characters in Rey, who’s trying to find her place in the galaxy, and Finn, a Stormtrooper who discovered his morals.
The Last Jedi
Following a tragic death in The Force Awakens, the Resistance finds itself in a tight spot in The Last Jedi. Rey has left the group in search of Luke Skywalker to train her in the ways of the Force. While Rey learning how to control her powers, Finn and Rose embark on a secret mission to disable a tracking device set by the First Order. However, with the First Order swiftly closing in on the Resistance, Rey and Luke arrive on the battlefield.
After saving her friends, Rey is kidnapped by the First Order, but when Snoke orders Kylo Ren to dispose of the new Jedi, Kylo Ren has other plans. The Last Jedi was met with extremely mixed reception with some fans claiming the film was one of the best in the Star Wars collection, while others thought it was a confuddled mess.
The Rise Of Skywalker
The final film of the sequel trilogy and the Skywalker Saga is The Rise of Skywalker. Coming off The Last Jedi and the themes used in that movie, The Rise of Skywalker felt like receiving whiplash. The ninth episode completely ignores the majority of what transpired in the previous movie and opens with the sudden and unexpected return of Emperor Palpatine.
With the evil lord somehow back in commission, the Resistance gears up for war, while Rey continues to try to bring Kylo Ren back to the light. For better or worse, The Rise of Skywalker concludes the story surrounding this family and potentially opens the door for other Star Wars adventures in a faraway galaxy.