04 May 2023 , 08:52
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Star Wars is one of the most successful franchises of all time, with a following like no other. If you're a fan, it's likely you'll know all the ins and outs of the galaxy far far away.
But if you've not succumbed to George Lucas' epic space saga before and are considering watching for the very first time, you might want to keep reading.
That's because it can be rather tricky to work out which order to watch the movies and television shows in, as they weren't released in chronological order and the oldest films don't actually come first in the timeline.
There are three original movies, three prequels, three sequels, and countless TV shows and animated series on Disney+ including The Mandalorian and Star Wars Rebels.
So is there a right way to watch them?
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Everyone will have a different opinion when it comes to this, and there are numerous different ways you can go about it and they have their pros and cons, but to make matters a bit less complicated, we've boiled it down to three different orders to go for. Whichever one you go for is up to you.
There are so many movies (PA)
It can be tricky to know where to start (Handout)If you want to watch everything there is to currently watch when it comes to Star Wars, you might consider watching the films and shows in chronological order, like this:
- 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)
- Star Wars: Resistance (2018-2020)
- Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
- Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
- Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
It's worth noting there are also a few other shows set to be released later this year, like Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew, as well as several unnamed films and projects in the works for 2024 and beyond. The list is seemingly endless...
And new TV shows keep coming out too (Daily Record)However, if this is too much for you and you'd rather just stick with the films for now, this would be the chronological order for the ones that have already been released:
- Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
- Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
- 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)
- Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
- Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
- Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
For those who love animated films, you could also add Star Wars: Clone Wars to this list in the third spot after Attack of the Clones. The movie, released in 2008 is considered to be canon by fans within the greater Star Wars universe.
The third option would be to watch the franchise in the same way all other diehard fans did - in the order it was first released over the years.
Originally we only had the movies, which came out in this 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)
But if you want to add in TV shows as well, it would be more like this:
- 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)
And if that's still not enough for you, there are even more Star Wars-related shows out there you can binge on, including all the LEGO Star Wars series and various Holiday Specials.
Happy watching and happy Star Wars Day. May the force be with you.
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