How to watch Star Wars movies in order? Chronology and timeline, explored

The first Star Wars film came in 1977 and became a global phenomenon. Now, this universe has spread so vastly that one might need a few days off work to understand what lies there. For newbies, this can be quite a complex topic, especially when we are talking about the timeline.

So here, we will see the chronological order of the movies in the franchise. However, it's also filled with animated and live-action TV series, so we will fill you in on them while discussing the movies.

In this list, we will talk about the available movies in the franchise, as more of them are planned for the future. Most of these are live-action films, but we have an animated film, The Clone Wars, in there too.

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Star Wars movies in chronological order

Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

Though this isn't exactly the beginning, the film will introduce you to Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) when he was an apprentice to Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson). But the saga began before this, so you would want to watch The Acolyte before that. And an untitled James Mangold film when it arrives.

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Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)

This is where a grown-up Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) loses his arm to Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), aka Darth Tyranus. Although he gets a cybernetic one, he didn't really like it in the story.

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The Clone Wars (2008)

Attack of the Clones is directly followed by The Clone Wars, where Jabba the Hutt's son Rotta is kidnapped. Though Rotta is rescued, things didn't really go as planned. To fill the gap, fans need to watch The Clone Wars series, as the film serves as a pilot to it.

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Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Revenge of the Sith is more about Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), who takes advantage of Anakin's fear of losing Padme (Natalie Portman). This is where he becomes the Darth Vader.

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Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

As the name clearly suggests, this is a standalone Star Wars film about Han Solo. Alden Ehrenreich plays the titular character in the 2018 film, which Harrison Ford originally played.

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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Before moving on to this, make sure you've watched Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022), Star Wars Rebels (2014), and Andor (2022). The character is actually introduced in this film and is focused around a superweapon called Death Star.

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Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

Going by the release order, this is the first Star Wars film in the original George Lucas trilogy. The film follows the Rebel Alliance, which is planning to destroy the Death Star. In the film, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) learns about the metaphysical power at the heart of the franchise called the Force.

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Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

The next chapter in the original trilogy sees Luke Skywalker, Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) against the Darth Vader (David Prowse) led Imperial fleet. Though Prowse acted as the Darth Vader, the late James Earl Jones provided the character's voice.

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Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

The original trilogy's third film sees Luke battling Jabba the Hut and Darth Vader. Interestingly, you won't need any fillers to understand the events happening here, as all three films work in continuity without relying on a TV series or a standalone film.

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Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)

The Force Awakens is a sequel trilogy, and to bridge the gap between the film and Return of the Jedi, fans need to go through The Mandalorian (2019), The Book of Boba Fett (2021), Ahsoka (2023), Skeleton Crew (2023), and Star Wars: Resistance (2018).

There's an upcoming Dave Feloni film where the events take place between Skeleton Crew and Resistance. Moreover, Adam Driver's Kylo Ren, the main antagonist in the trilogy, is introduced here.

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Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

The fight against Kylo Ren continues here as the Resistance tries to keep its stand against evil forces. This particular saga is important as it features Carrie Fisher's posthumous appearance as General Leia Organa. We see her in the following film via repurposed unreleased footage from the first movie in this trilogy.

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Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

The final chapter in the sequel trilogy is where it's revealed that Emperor Palpatine still roams this universe. Like the original trilogy, fans won't need any fillers in between, so they can watch them back-to-back.