However, so many tellings and re-tellings exist that both new and old fans alike often question how to watch the Star Wars moview in order. Should you watch the Star Wars movies in the order they came out, or should you watch them in chronological order? And where in the world do you fit the TV shows and Rogue One into all of this?
Let’s look at the merits of the three most common watching orders and find out.
Release order
The so-called prequel trilogy — consisting of Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Episode II: Attack of the Clones, and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith — have been wildly unpopular with the franchise’s fans since they were released. Many fans believe the prequel trilogy suffers from a dull political conflict, one-dimensional antagonists, and annoying comic relief characters like the infamous Jar Jar Binks. Consequently, starting with the prequels may leave a new Star Wars fan with a bad impression of the franchise. The original trilogy, on the other hand, is far more likely to hook a new audience than the prequel trilogy — which even die-hard Star Wars fans tend to greatly dislike.
- 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)
- 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)
- Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
- Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
- Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
- Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Chronological order
That being said, older fans may benefit from starting with the prequels because they can better appreciate the buildup to the final battle between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.
First, the prequels answer a lot of questions that people have been asking about the series’ flagship villain, Darth Vader, for years. They go into detail about where Darth Vader came from and, more importantly, why and how he became Darth Vader in the first place.
Second, the prequels also set the political stage for the rise of the Galactic Empire that Luke Skywalker and his allies fight against in the original trilogy. This background gives the rebels’ actions more meaning overall, and expands their struggle beyond a simple story of good versus evil.
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
- Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
- Solo: A Star Wars Story
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
- Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
- Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
- Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
- Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker
Would you like a side with that?
While the prequels put some mysteries about the Star Wars characters to rest, they also raise even more. Thankfully, Lucasfilm produced a number of additional “side stories” to address these issues — all of which are now available on Disney Plus.
These side stories include both movies and TV shows: Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars Rebels, Rogue One, The Mandalorian, and Star Wars: Resistance.
They fit into the franchise like so:
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
- Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
- The Clone Wars animated series
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
- Solo: A Star Wars Story
- Star Wars: Rebels animated series
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
- Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
- The Mandalorian
- Star Wars: Resistance animated series
- Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
- Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
- Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker
So, there you have it, folks.
Which one you choose depends entirely on what kind of Star Wars fan you are. If you’re new to the franchise and short on time, then you might want to stick to watching only the movies — in release order. If you’re already familiar with the story and you’re feeling adventurous, you can try shaking things up a little by viewing the story in the order it was meant to be told.
And if you love everything Star Wars and you have a lot of time on your hands, go ahead and watch every movie and TV show from start to finish.
