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How to watch the Star Wars

movies in order: Every order
from chronological timeline
to release date
Star Wars is one of the most beloved
franchises in the world - and here is how to
watch it all in order...

Disney/Lucasfilm

Lidia Molina-Whyte

Published: Thursday, 13 July 2023 at 11:28 am

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With the third season of The Mandalorian out now

on Disney+, it's a great time to revisit how to watch
the Star Wars movies in order again.

Almost half a century has passed since the first

Star Wars film changed cinema forever in 1977
and, with the franchise still going strong decades
later, there are more options than ever to choose
from.

With nine mainline movies, two spin-offs and a

host of Disney Plus shows to consider, figuring out
how to watch them in order can be a tricky task.

As well as The Mandalorian season 3, which

released on the platform in March 2023, fans were
also treated to the first season of Rogue One
prequel Andor last year.

And there are more Star Wars series on the way to

Disney Plus including The Mandalorian spin-offs
Ahsoka and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. We will also
be getting the oldest chronological offering yet
with the Disney+ show The Acolyte which will be
set during the glory days of the High Republic.

We can also rest comfortably knowing that The

Mandalorian will return for a fourth season on
Disney+ sometime in the future.

But the Star Wars order gets more tricky when you
add in the TV shows like Clone Wars, Rebels, The
Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. Disney
Plus has all the Star Wars movies (in 4K too), as well
as the shows and breakaway standalone shorts
and animations.

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If you want to watch the Star Wars movies and

shows in order, you have a few options. Some claim
there are five different orders you can watch the
Star Wars saga in, but there are a few widely
accepted preferred ways.

The Mandalorian/Din Djarin with Grogu in The Mandalorian season

3. Disney+/Lucasfilm

The three seen as the best in telling the Skywalker

story are the order of episodes (chronological),
production (release date), and the Godfather cut.
There's also the Machete order that cuts The
Phantom Menace. There are pros and cons for all
of these of course, which we've broken down for
you.

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Read on for everything you need to know about

how to watch the Star Wars movies in order.

• Star Wars movies in chronological timeline

order

• Star Wars movies and TV series in release

order

• Complete Star Wars viewing order including

TV shows

• Star Wars movies in 'The Godfather order'

• Star Wars movies in The Machete Order

• Star Wars movies in The Rinster Order

• What's the best Star Wars movie order?

• Star Wars movies on Disney Plus

• How long will it take to watch all the Star Wars

movies?

Star Wars movies in

chronological timeline
order

Liam Neeson plays Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: The Phantom

Menace. SEAC

The Star Wars movies in chronological order sets

the movies in a real timeline so you experience the
story as it would unfold for the characters. Below,
we have every Star Wars movie as well as the spin-
offs. If you start the movies in this order you could
watch them in a weekend.

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If marked in italics then the titles remain

unreleased.

How to watch the Star Wars in chronological order:

• Untitled James Mangold film (TBC)

• The Acolyte (2024-)

• Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

• Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)

• Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-2020)

• Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

• Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

• Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)

• Star Wars Rebels (2014-2018)

• Andor (2022-present)

• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

• Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

• Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

• Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

• The Mandalorian (2019-present)

• The Book of Boba Fett (2021-2022)

• Ahsoka (2023-)

• Skeleton Crew (2023-)

• Untitled Dave Feloni film (TBC)

• Star Wars: Resistance (2018-2020)

• Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)

• Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

• Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

• Untitled Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy film (TBC)

Or, going by movies only:

• Untitled James Mangold film (TBC)

• Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

• Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)

• Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)

• Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

• Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

• Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

• Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

• Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

• Untitled Dave Feloni film (TBC)

• Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)

• Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

• Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

• Untitled Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy film (TBC)

Pros: If you choose to watch the Star Wars movies

in chronological order, you'll be living the story
along with the characters, following the official
chronology of the series. We've used New Hope as
the central point to work out the timeline here.

Cons: This order does, however, come with a

couple of downsides. For one, the big reveal about
Luke's parentage (one of the most iconic scenes in
cinematic history) is ruined this way. It also makes
the saga's inconsistencies glaringly obvious,
including Obi-Wan forgetting about Leia's
existence despite being present at her birth. And
that's assuming you make it through the divisive
prequels, a feat that might require you to use the
Force, or don't want to have to rush through the full
Mandalorian series on Disney Plus.

If you're looking for the Star Wars complete saga -

that's including the Mandalorian - then skip to that
section further down the page.

Which Star Wars character are you?

Can you do the Kessel Run in less than 12 par

secs? Or are you better suited to swinging a
lightsaber? Take the quiz to find out...

Start

• Read More: Obi-Wan Kenobi: How the

Disney Plus series fits into the Star Wars
timeline

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Star Wars movies and TV

series in release date
order

Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) in Lucasfilm's OBI-WAN

KENOBI, Disney+/Lucasfilm

Next up, watching the Star Wars movies in release

order.

It may not marry up to the chronological order of

the story, but this release date order allows you to
experience it how the rest of the world did.

You can also observe how cinematic techniques

have developed (or not developed) over time.

Here's how to watch the Star Wars movies in

release order.

• Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

• Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

• Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

• Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

• Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)

• Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

• Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)

• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

• Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

• Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

• Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

If you want to watch the Star Wars movies in

release order with the TV series (in italics) we've
got that list for you too.

• Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

• Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

• Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

• Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

• Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)

• Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

• Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-2020)

• Star Wars Rebels (2014-2018)

• Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)

• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

• Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

• Star Wars: Resistance (2018-2020)

• Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

• Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

• The Mandalorian (2019-present)

• The Book of Boba Fett (2021-2022)

• Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)

• Andor (2022-present)

• Ahsoka (2023)

• Skeleton Crew (2023)

• The Acolyte (2024)

• Lando (TBC)

• Untitled James Mangold film (TBC)

• Untitled Dave Feloni film (TBC)

• Untitled Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy film (TBC)

Pros: Enjoying Star Wars by release date, aka the

purist way, means you watch the movies in the
same order they originally came out in cinemas.
After all, this is how most Star Wars fans
experienced the intergalactic saga in the first
place.

Cons: However, George Lucas made more than a

few tweaks to the original trilogy following the
release of the prequels, and has been vocal about
watching them by in-movie chronology instead.
Also, thanks to the advent of spin-off movies and
TV shows watching this way means you might end
up jumping around the story a bit.

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Complete Star Wars

viewing order including
TV shows

Ray Park as Darth Maul in Star Wars: The Phantom

Menace. LucasFilm, Sky, HF

Although some of the orders above include select

Star Wars TV shows and specials produced since
1977, there are more out there. A lot more. While
several are either unknown to many fans (like niche
1980s animation series Droids), others have been
completely disavowed by Star Wars creator
George Lucas (looking at you, Holiday Special). All,
however, are part of the extended Star Wars
Universe, officially or not.

When Disney bought Lucasfilm it also meant that

the Expanded Universe was reset, in plain terms it
meant all the movies, animation and shows that
had built up in the background were now not
canon. The Prequel Trilogy, Original Trilogy and The
Clone Wars animation all remain canon. Of course,
Disney has added to the canon and more than
replaced what was taken away. This will take you far
longer than a weekend.

For those brave enough to view it all, here’s the

entire Star Wars Saga and limited specials in
chronological order - as best as we know at
present.

• Untitled James Mangold film (upcoming)

• Star Wars: The Acolyte (upcoming, 2024?)

• Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

• Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)

• Lego Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles (2013

to 2014)

• Lego Star Wars: The Padawan Menace

(2011)

• The Clone Wars (2008 to 2014)

• Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

• Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021)

• Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

• Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)

• Star Wars Rebels (2014 to 2018)

• Andor (2022 to present)

• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

• Star Wars: Droids (1985 to 1986)

• Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

• Star Wars: Holiday Special (1978)

• Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out

(2012)

• Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

• Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi (1983)

• Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures

(2016 to 2017)

• Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales (2015)

• Ewoks (1985 to 1986)

• The Mandalorian (2019-present)

• The Book of Boba Fett (2021-2022)

• Ahsoka (upcoming, 2023)

• Star Wars: Skeleton Crew (upcoming, 2023)

• Untitled Dave Feloni film (upcoming)

• Learn More Watch after ad (0.18):

Star Wars: Resistance (2018 to Present)
Why You Should Watch:
• LegoSkip Wars: TheMaryland
StarAd Resistance Rises
(2016)
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