Lucasfilm has been making Star Wars movies since 1977, but when The Empire Strikes Back was released in 1980, it arrived sporting an “Episode V" subtitle (with the original film being redubbed Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope). Ever since then, the film series has zipped backward and forward in time as it chronicles the history of the Skywalker family and fills in various narrative holes from a galaxy far, far away.
What this means is there are two different and distinct ways to tackle all the films: In the order they were released in theaters, or in order of chronological events. Both have their pluses and minuses but are equally legitimate ways to experience the saga as a whole.
Star Wars Movies in Chronological Order of Events
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
Released to theaters in 1999 as the first installment of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, The Phantom Menace is the earliest set film in the timeline and kicks off the story of Anakin Skywalker, a precocious child who seems preternaturally gifted in the ways of the Force, a mystical, magical power wielded by heroes and villains alike in the Star Wars universe. You’ll meet the Jedi, an order of knights who use the Force for good, and the Sith, acolytes of the dark side of the Force who are usually trying to take control of the galaxy. It takes place about 32 years before the Death Star is destroyed.
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
In the prequel trilogy’s second film, set about 10 years after the events of The Phantom Menace, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) has grown into a surly teenager and is continuing his Jedi training under Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by prequel trilogy MVP Ewan McGregor). He also falls in love with Galactic Republic Senator Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) and starts to let his rising anger get the better of him.
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
It’s Anakin vs. Obi-Wan in the prequel finale, as Anakin falls to the dark side and eventually becomes the villainous Darth Vader. While he’s off battling his mentor, Padmé gives birth to twins, whom she names Luke and Leia. Meanwhile, the Republic is dismantled and the nefarious Empire takes its place. The film takes place about three years after the events of Attack of the Clones.
Solo: A Star Wars Story
An origin story for everybody’s favorite galactic smuggler, Han Solo, which takes place about 10 years before the events of A New Hope. Here Alden Ehrenreich plays young Solo, as he sets off to make his fortune and meets future Star Wars mainstays Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian along the way.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Set immediately before the original Star Wars trilogy, Rogue One is a stand-alone film that tells the story of a group of Rebel spies who try to steal the plans for the Empire’s new secret weapon – the Death Star. Rogue One will offer up your first real glimpse of the Rebel Alliance, which has formed to fight back against the Empire.
Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope
Here it is, the original Star Wars film, and it features the defining versions of many of the franchise’s most popular characters, including eager farm boy Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), fearless Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), and cocksure smuggler Han Solo (Harrison Ford). Luke goes on a journey of self-discovery, and everyone joins forces in an attempt to take down the Death Star.
Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
Largely considered the best of the Star Wars films (and for good reason), The Empire Strikes Back takes place about three years after the events of A New Hope and finds our heroes on the run from ruthless Imperial forces. A wise puppet named Yoda shows up to train Luke in the ways of the Force, and Darth Vader reveals the truth to Luke that … 40-year-old spoiler alert … he is Luke’s father! (One of the demerits of watching the films in chronological order is that this classic twist gets ruined many films in advance.)
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
The last installment of the original trilogy takes place about a year after the events of Empire Strikes Back and features the final confrontation between Luke, Vader, and Vader’s master – Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), a Sith Lord who has been skirting around the fringes of the franchise since the beginning. Also included: A second Death Star, a bunch of ferocious (but cute) teddy-bear-like creatures called Ewoks, and a conclusion to the Skywalker saga that stood until …
Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens
32 years after the original cast wrapped up their battle against the Empire (and three years after Star Wars creator George Lucas sold his company, Lucasfilm, to Disney), Hamill, Fisher and Ford returned to the fold for director J.J. Abrams’ continuation of the saga. The focus, however, turned to a new generation of heroes and villains, including Rey (Daisy Ridley), a poor junk-trader with a strong connection to the Force, and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), a masked menace whose bloodline is deeply rooted in Star Wars lore. The film takes place about 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi.
Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi
Set directly after the events of The Force Awakens, Rey continues her Jedi training under a reluctant Luke and forms an unlikely bond with a conflicted Kylo Ren, while the rest of the Resistance – a Rebel Alliance-esque offshoot commanded by Leia – fights back against the First Order, the evil regime that rose up to replace the fallen Empire.
Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker
Emperor Palpatine has returned. (Seriously!) And it’s up to Rey and her sequel-trilogy friends Poe (Oscar Isaac) and Finn (John Boyega) to save the galaxy once and for all. Appearances are made by pretty much every living saga character (and even some of the dead ones), and the story wraps up the Skywalker saga in epic fashion. For now, anyway.
Star Wars Movies in Order of Release
Watching the Star Wars films in the order of their release also has its benefits. You get some of the franchise’s strongest films right up front, and several of its big surprises are preserved for their proper reveal. The release order is:
1. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
2. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
3. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)
4. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
5. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)
6. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)
7. Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015)
8. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
9. Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017)
10. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
11. Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Some fans also suggest a third way to watch the films, sometimes called “the machete order,” which involves starting with A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, then going back to watch the prequel trilogy, before returning to the natural release order with Return of the Jedi and continuing on to The Force Awakens from there. The primary benefit to this order is it preserves the Luke/Vader surprise but still allows you to experience Anakin’s entire back-story before learning his ultimate fate.
How Do the TV Shows Fit in?
These days, if you want to keep up with everything going on in the Star Wars universe, you can't just limit yourself to the films. Though Lucasfilm has always dabbled with TV spinoffs, the last few years have seen an explosion of Star Wars content on Disney+. Here is a complete list of shows Lucasfilm considers canon and that you would need to watch if you want to be fully caught up on the entire saga.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Produced (for the most part) when Lucas himself was still running the company, this animated series takes place between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith and follows Anakin and Obi-Wan on their adventures throughout the galaxy. It also introduces Ahsoka Tano, a young female Jedi-in-training and fan favorite. It begins with a feature-length movie and wraps up with a delayed seventh season that was finally released in 2020. Make sure you catch this one if you’re a big fan of the prequel trilogy.
The Bad Batch
An animated spinoff of The Clone Wars, The Bad Batch follows a group of genetically-mutated clone troopers who turn against the newly-formed Empire and become mercenaries. If you decide to binge all the animated series in chronological order, this should be the second one you watch, following The Clone Wars. (Though be aware a second season is expected to premiere sometime later this year.)
Star Wars: Rebels
Another animated series featuring a mostly brand-new group of characters who run missions for the Rebel Alliance against the Empire. Rebels follows both of the previous two animated shows, and if you're tackling all things Star Wars in chronological order, watch this one after Solo but before Rogue One.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
The most recent Star Wars release on Disney+, Obi-Wan Kenobi reunites McGregor's Jedi master and Christensen's Anakin Skywalker (who's now gone full Darth Vader) and shows what they've been up to following the events of Revenge of the Sith. Like The Bad Batch and Rebels, this live-action series is set in the time between the prequel trilogy and the original trilogy.
The Mandalorian
Disney+’s first live-action Star Wars series follows a masked bounty hunter, a member of the order of Mandalorian warriors, whose entire world is upended when he becomes the caretaker of a Force-sensitive infant who’s of the same species as Yoda. (Hence, “Baby Yoda.” Perhaps you’ve seen the memes?) The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire but before the rise of the First Order, so chronologically it comes right after Return of the Jedi. Two seasons have aired, and a third is on its way.
The Book of Boba Fett
The Book of Boba Fett continues the adventures of several of the characters we first met on The Mandalorian and does a deep dive on Fett, Star Wars' most notorious bounty hunter. The first season of this show picks up immediately after season two of The Mandalorian.
Star Wars Resistance
While the other three animated Star Wars series are all closely connected, Star Wars Resistance is largely a stand-alone affair that follows a young pilot who decides to fight back against The First Order. It takes place just prior to The Force Awakens.
Coming Soon
So that would get you all caught up for now, but plenty more Star Wars movies and shows are on the way. We mentioned that new seasons of The Bad Batch and The Mandalorian are in production. Also in the pipeline for Disney+ are Andor, a Rogue One spinoff that serves as a prequel to that film; The Acolyte, a mysterious new series set 100 years before The Phantom Menace; Ahsoka, a series that catches up with Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) following her live-action debut in The Mandalorian; and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, a newly announced kid-based adventure that will star Jude Law and be set after Return of the Jedi. Meanwhile, several new big-screen Star Wars adventures are currently in the works, including a space-pilot-focused Rogue Squadron movie from Patty Jenkins and a mysterious new Star Wars film being shepherded by Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi.