Credit: LucasfilmThe Star Wars films have expanded far beyond George Lucas’ original trilogy. Between the Skywalker Saga, standalone adventures, television movies, and even an animated feature, the franchise has produced a surprisingly varied lineup of films over the past five decades.
But when ranking every movie collection in the long-running saga, which era comes out on top?
For this ranking, we’ve divided every Star Wars movie into five distinct collections. From the Skywalker Saga to the anthology films and some of the franchise’s most unusual releases, here’s our ranking of all five Star Wars movie collections from worst to best.
5. The “Oddball” Trilogy
- Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (1984)
- Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)
This particular grouping, which is not an officially recognized trilogy, consists of the two non-canon television films Caravan of Courage and The Battle for Endor, and The Clone Wars (2008), which remains the franchise’s only animated theatrical feature.
Although the two Ewok adventures starring Wilford Brimley (Noa Briqualon), Aubree Miller (Cindel Towani), and Warwick Davis (Wicket W. Warrick) have earned cult followings over the years, they’re hardly well received among the wider fanbase and also sit outside the main saga.
Caravan of Courage was directed by John Korty and The Battle for Endor was helmed by the brothers Ken and Jim Wheat.
The Clone Wars, however, directed by Dave Filoni, serves as the theatrical launchpad for the animated series of the same name starring Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano, Matt Lanter as Anakin Skywalker, and James Arnold Taylor as Obi-Wan Kenobi. Though historically important, it’s more of a television pilot than a fully realized feature film, and is ultimately one of the more forgettable theatrical Star Wars entries.
4. The Sequel Trilogy
- Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens (2015)
- Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi (2017)
- Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
The Force Awakens introduced Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, and Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron while bringing back Harrison Ford as Han Solo, Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, and Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa.
JJ Abrams’ sequel trilogy-opener became a massive box-office success, but the series as a whole struggled to maintain consistent storytelling.
While each installment was commercially successful, the last two films, The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, directed by Rian Johnson and Abrams, respectively, remain the most critically panned entries in the entire franchise.
They’re also considered to be the most damaging, with many fans citing them as the cause of Star Wars‘ decline over the past several years, with a number of Disney+ shows including The Book of Boba Fett (2021) and The Acolyte (2024) also receiving negative reviews from audiences.
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3. The “Standalone” Trilogy
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
- Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
- The Mandalorian & Grogu (2026)
This unofficial collection includes Rogue One, Solo, and The Mandalorian & Grogu, all of which are standalone films. Although none are directly connected with one another (but two fall under the A Star Wars Story banner), together they represent the franchise at its most experimental outside the Skywalker Saga.
Rogue One, directed by Gareth Edwards and starring Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso and Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, is widely regarded as one of Disney’s strongest Star Wars films thanks to its grounded war story and unforgettable ending. It also spawned the critically acclaimed live-action Disney+ prequel series Andor (2022).
Ron Howard’s Solo gave audiences younger versions of Han Solo and Lando Calrissian through Alden Ehrenreich and Donald Glover. However, it failed to resonate with fans and became the franchise’s first box-office bomb.
It has since been usurped by Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian & Grogu, which brought Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin and his adopted Force-sensitive companion to the big screen. The latest film, released on May 22 this year, received mixed reviews and proved to be a modest performer at the box office despite being the franchise’s first big-screen outing since 2019.
2. The Prequel Trilogy
- Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
- Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)
- Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Time has been incredibly kind to the prequels. Starring Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker, Natalie Portman as Padmé Amidala, Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine, and Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn, the second trilogy, whose three films were each directed by George Lucas, dramatically expanded the mythology of the galaxy far, far away.
While The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones remain somewhat divisive (the first is often described as “boring” while the second has been branded “forgettable”), Revenge of the Sith is widely celebrated as one of the franchise’s finest achievements.
Combined with the enormous popularity of The Clone Wars series, the prequel era has grown into arguably the richest period in all of Star Wars, making it the strongest collection of films in the franchise.
1. The Original Trilogy
- Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope (1977)
- Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
- Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi (1983)
The original Star Wars trilogy changed cinema forever. Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker, Harrison Ford’s Han Solo, Carrie Fisher’s Leia Organa, and James Earl Jones’ iconic voice performance as Darth Vader became cultural icons almost overnight.
George Lucas’ A New Hope was an instant classic, Irvin Kershner’s The Empire Strikes Back is still considered to be the greatest Star Wars film ever made and one of the greatest sequels in movie history, while Richard Marquand’s Return of the Jedi delivered a satisfying conclusion to the original saga.
The Next Star Wars Movie
The next chapter for the galaxy far, far away arrives with Star Wars: Starfighter, which flies into theaters on May 28, 2027.
Directed by Shawn Levy (Deadpool & Wolverine) and starring Ryan Gosling in the lead role, the standalone adventure takes place five years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker and introduces an entirely new cast of characters rather than continuing the Skywalker Saga.
The cast also includes Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Amy Adams, and Flynn Gray, with plot details remaining largely under wraps beyond Lucasfilm describing it as a standalone story set in a previously unexplored era of the timeline.
How would you rank all five Star Wars movie trilogies? What do you think about ours? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
