What Order to Watch “Star Wars” Movies and Shows?

in Entertainment, Star Wars

Star Wars posters

Credit: Lucasfilm/Express

Though it might come as a bit of a surprise to many seasoned Star Wars fans that this is a question that still needs answering, in the lead-up to The Rise of Skywalker I was personally asked this question several times and there seems to be a lot of debate online about what order to watch Star Wars movies in.

Not only that, there’s a huge selection of Star Wars television shows that all fit into the timeline including the most recent, The Mandalorian but also The Clone Wars, Rebels, and Resistance.

We thought we’d share a couple of options with you and of course, give our final recommendation on what order you should be watching the movies and shows. So, what is the correct order of the Star Wars movies?

Skywalker Saga

Those of you new to the franchise are likely going to want to skip shows, side movies and concentrate solely on understanding the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker and the follow-up adventures of his children, Luke and Leia.

Darth Vader
Credit: Lucasfilm

If this is you then we’d recommend watching in an order that makes the most sense for the Skywalker Story. This order is:

  1. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
  2. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
  3. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
  4. Star Wars: A New Hope
  5. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
  6. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
  7. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
  8. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
  9. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

This order will give you the best understanding of the unfolding story and you’ll still get to see the prequel trilogy and sequel trilogy, they are both incredibly important for understanding the Skywalker story.

The old school Star Wars fans

Don’t worry, we know that if you went to the cinema back in 1977 to watch Star Wars and then the original trilogy even before they added A New Hope to the original movie. This list for old school fans is as followed:

  1. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
  2. Star Wars: A New Hope (Episode IV)
  3. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V)
  4. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (Episode VI)
  5. The Mandalorian
The Mandalorian
Credit: Lucasfilm

Why this list you ask? Well, these are the only movies and shows reviewed in an overwhelmingly positive way by fans who have been around since the beginning. It’s mostly the Star Wars movies from the original trilogy and ones featuring Darth Vader…

This is also a list you can easily digest on a single day like Star Wars Day (May 4th).

The definitive way to watch the Star Wars Saga in order

Still with us? Congratulations, you make up the majority of Star Wars viewers who just watch what the franchise releases for the fun of it. Here is the correct order to watch every single Star Wars film and show (including some season splits) when you consider the two core events in the timeline, BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin) and ABY (After the Battle of Yavin).

  1. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
  2. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
  3. The Clone Wars animated movie
  4. The Clone Wars animated series
  5. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
  6. Solo: A Star Wars Story
  7. Star Wars Rebels animated series
  8. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
  9. Star Wars: A New Hope
  10. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
  11. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
  12. The Mandalorian
  13. Star Wars Resistance Season 1
  14. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
  15. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
  16. Star Wars Resistance Season 2
  17. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

The Star Wars Universe can be a complicated one and the Star Wars timeline is a bit of a mess if you watch the order out of order. As a huge Star Wars fan, if you can commit the time to all of this, you will have the most enjoyment.

From the rise of Darth Sidious and the fall of the humble Jedi Knight to the birth of the rebellion and meeting Princess Leia for the first time, this will take you on the full journey that started over 40 years ago. The Star Wars series really does have it all.

So there you have it, the age-old question, ‘what is the correct order of the star wars movies?’ has been answered, and we’ve thrown in the answer to include all the television shows for good measure.

Now we know there’s always going to be fans that only like the films with Darth Vader in or ones where George Lucas himself had a part in the creation but let’s be honest, we can all agree to love Star Wars films from The Phantom Menace to The Force Awakens and the fan-favorite, Empire Strikes Back.

So whether you love Kylo Ren, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, the Jedi or the Sith, there’s an order to watch the Star Wars films that works for any type of fan.

The only one we excluded from every list as the timeline is so mixed depending on the episode is the show Forces of Destiny which is a series of shorts. Wanted to mention it before one of you eagle-eyed readers spots we left it out!

Now, of course, these aren’t the only ways you can watch all of the Star Wars story play out on your screens but from our extensive research, these three lists best summarize how the different types of Star Wars fans feel about the movies and television shows. Feel free to activate your Death Star and disagree. Some only like to watch the movies where the Empire or First Order is winning the battles.

If you really wanted to be cool, just watch the movies where Obi-Wan Kenobi says ‘Hello there’, a fan favorite that we’re hoping Disney will bring back in the upcoming television series on Disney+.

The other point, fans tend to agree that the prequel trilogy (The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith) is the worst of the Star Wars Story and that the original trilogy (A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi) is the best of the Star Wars Saga.

The great thing about the Star Wars franchise is that you can now watch it all on Disney+. No matter what you favorite Star Wars movie is, it is on there alongside a few interesting documentaries on how the movies were made.

Do you agree with our definitive order to watch the Star Wars Saga? Let us know in the comments below on what order you watch the movies and shows in and what your favorite Star Wars film is!

in Entertainment, Star Wars

View Comment (1)