The best order to watch all the Star Wars movies and shows
The Skywalker saga is complete, the Clone wars animated series has come to an end (sort of), and one of the best Star Wars stories ever told takes place between seasons. But Star Wars: The Phantom Menace is back in theaters for its 25th anniversary and is picking up steam significant money at the till, causing viewers to reconsider their original viewing of the film, or double down on their opinion of it the first time around. If you visit again Phantom it makes you want to rewatch more Star Wars, which should be pretty easy in the streaming age. Disney Plus has every movie and show that is currently canon (and a few that aren’t).
But what’s the best way to see it all? After George Lucas released his prequel trilogy, Star Wars fans debated the order in which they should devour the series. Now, with three trilogies, a few spin-off films, some animated and live-action series, and at least two spin-offs of spin-offs, the “right” way to view the Star Wars saga is even more complicated. With all that in mind, here are a few different viewing orders to guide you, whether you’re a longtime fan looking to rewatch the movies and shows or a newcomer in need of a Star Wars crash course.
Watch Star Wars in chronological order
Image: Lucasfilm
This viewing order doesn’t need much explanation. This is how the events of the Star Wars universe happened on the BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin) / ABY (After the Battle of Yavin) timeline. It starts with the earliest events and moves forward in time from there. A few may happen at the same time, but it’s not our fault.
- Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
- Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (the animated film)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (the animated series)
- Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch
- Solo: A Star Wars Story
- Obi Wan Kenobi
- Star Wars Rebels animated series
- Andor season 1
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- Star Wars: A New Hope
- Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
- Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
- The Mandalorian sseason 1
- The Mandalorian season 2
- Boba Fett’s Book
- The Mandalorian season 3
- Ahsoka season 1
- Star Wars Resistance season 1
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi
- Star Wars Resistance season 2
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Watching Star Wars in Skywalker Saga order
Image: Lucasfilm
Taken a little inspiration from the internet celebrity Ernst Rister order – originally from a now deleted forum post – is used in this list A new hope And Empire strikes Back as a setup for the prequel films and puts more emphasis on Luke Skywalker. By watching the movies and shows this way, you will definitely know where his family comes from.
This sequence deviates from the Skywalker story after both Revenge of the Sith And Return of the Jedi, but it gives you much better context for Anakin’s exploits during the Clone Wars and sets up his redeeming moment where he sided with Luke over Emperor Palpatine. As you progress through the new trilogy, Luke remains the focus.
The trickiest part of this order is the very soft middle section, which focuses on a few different things, including Mandalore, a few Mandalorians, and Ahsoka, for a while instead of Luke and the Skywalker family – even if they pop up every now and then than.
- Star Wars: A New Hope
- Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
- Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
- Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (the animated film)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (the animated series)
- Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch
- Obi Wan Kenobi
- Solo: A Star Wars Story
- Star Wars Rebels animated series
- Andor season 1
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
- The Mandalorian season 1
- The Mandalorian season 2
- Boba Fett’s Book
- The Mandalorian season 3
- Ahsoka season 1
- Star Wars Resistance season 1
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi
- Star Wars Resistance season 2
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Watching Star Wars in…the order of the galaxy
Image: Lucasfilm
We recommend this playlist for those who have seen Star Wars so many times that they want to make it a truly strange experience. This isn’t really an addition to any particular character or storyline, but to the series as a whole. This order should help you catch all the little references from one movie or show and connect them to the next, although you’ll probably still miss a few.
The first few entries focus on the rebellion. Then at the lowest moment we switch sides to Anakin to see how he became Darth Vader and how the Empire gained control over the Milky Way. Then we see the fall of the empire Return of the Jediand its aftermath The Mandalorian And Book by Boba Fett.
Ahsoka also has a bit of an odd fit in this sequence, in that she just pops in and out of the story after her introduction in Clone wars – which, while narratively odd, is most in line with how she actually operates in the series.
The final strange bit of this order is the repositioning of the new trilogy with Han as a more central figure. We see his family struggling The power awakensand then read his backstory Solo. This command causes Luke to give Han’s lucky dice to Leia The Last Jedi to a slightly more important moment, making it clear that this is Luke trying to repair some of the pain he caused Han’s family.
Note: If you want to go all the way with this order, we encourage you to watch A new hope until the planning meeting for the Battle of Yavin. At that point, switch to Villain onewatch the whole thing, then watch season 1 of Andor, then go back to the rest of A new hope. In this way, Villain one plays a bit like a heroic flashback to the rebellion.
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- Andor season 1
- Star Wars: A New Hope
- Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
- Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
- Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (the animated film)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (the animated series)
- Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch
- Obi Wan Kenobi
- Star Wars Rebels
- Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
- The Mandalorian season 1
- Boba Fett’s Book (first four episodes)
- The Mandalorian season 2
- Boba Fett’s Book (episodes 5, 6 and 7)
- The Mandalorian season 3
- Ahsoka season 1
- Star Wars Resistance season 1
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens
- Solo: A Star Wars Story
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi
- Star Wars Resistance season 2
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
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