How do you watch the Star Wars movies in order? While this may seem like a simple question, there is a lot of debate in the fandom about whether you should watch the films in release order or chronologically within the Star Wars universe. Aside from release and chronological order, fans constantly create new ways to travel to a galaxy far, far away. Whether you’re a long-time fan or new to the franchise, here are the best ways to watch the Star Wars movies in order.
This article explains why there are different ways to watch the Star Wars movies in order, so use these links if you just want the list of films and television series in order:
- Release Order of All Films
- Release Order of All Films & TV Series
- Machete Order of All Films
- Chronological Order of All Films
- Chronological Order of All Films & TV Series
How Do You Watch Star Wars in Order?
The most popular ways to watch Star Wars are release order, chronological order, and machete order. They each offer their own advantages but only slightly change the overall experience.
- Release Order – Watching the Star Wars movies in release order follows the order of their theatrical releases. It starts with A New Hope and ends with The Rise of Skywalker.
- Chronological Order – With chronological order, you watch the movies in the order they take place within the Star Wars series. You start with The Phantom Menace and go through The Rise of Skywalker.
- Machete Order – The machete order was created to keep several big surprises within the saga a secret. It starts with the first two episodes of the Original Trilogy, followed by the second two of the Prequel Trilogy, before finishing with the remaining films in chronological order. The Phantom Menace is considered optional.
What Movies Are Included in the Star Wars Watch Order?
So far, there are a total of 12 Star Wars films that form The Skywalker Saga. Also called the Star Wars Saga and often shortened to just the saga, it includes nine films spread across the Original, Prequel, and Sequel trilogies.
- Original Trilogy – The Original Trilogy includes A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, George Lucas’s original films released between 1977 and 1983. This trilogy is frequently abbreviated as OT.
- Prequel Trilogy – Released from 1999 to 2005, the Prequel Trilogy includes The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith. Although the prequel movies were released more recently, they actually take place before the Original Trilogy films. The Prequels are usually abbreviated as PT.
- Sequel Trilogy – The most recent series, the Sequel Trilogy was released from 2015 to 2019 and includes The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker. Abbreviated as ST, these films take place after both the OT and the PT.
In addition to these nine main films, there are also current three spin-off films. These are also called standalone films or anthology films.
Although usually omitted from the watch lists, the first spin-off is Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Released in 2008, this feature-length animated movie introduces The Clone Wars animated series.
The other two spin-offs, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Solo: A Star Wars Story, are frequently included in the watch orders. They serve as origin stories of sorts to characters and plot points mentioned in A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.
In addition to the films, there is a huge selection of Star Wars TV shows. While these are usually omitted from most watch lists, there is a complete watch order at the bottom of the article.
Why is There a Question About Watching Star Wars in Order?
Star Wars is likely the only film series where fans question the best viewing order. Other popular science-fiction fantasy series like Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and The Hunger Games were all released entirely chronologically. Each subsequent film is a direct sequel to the previous film.
However, that isn’t true with Star Wars. First released in 1977, George Lucas intended Star Wars: A New Hope to be the fourth entry in the Star Wars saga. As a result, episodes four, five, and six were released before episodes one, two, and three.
Dating back to at least the release of Revenge of the Sith, fans have debated about the best order to watch the films. Some fans believe they should be watched in the order they came out, while others think they should go chronologically by episode number. Other fans have created their own watch orders entirely.
Later films only confused that timeline more. The animated feature Star Wars: The Clone Wars was released in 2008 and spawned a subsequent animated series of the same name. However, the film and the series both take place between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.
Although released in 2016, Rogue One is a prequel to the original 1977 Star Wars. Solo, which came out in 2018, takes place between Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One.
How Do You Watch Star Wars in Release Order?
Watching Star Wars in release order is one popular way to view the series and follows them by the year each film came out. You start with the oldest film first, A New Home, and work your way to the newest film, currently The Rise of Skywalker.
While this order skips around within Star Wars, some fans say it helps explain advancements in special effects. However, it can be a little confusing if you aren’t paying close attention to the characters and storyline.
Here is how you watch Star Wars in release order:
- 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: The Clone Wars (2008) [Optional]
- Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015)
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) [Optional]
- Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017)
- Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) [Optional]
- Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
How To Watch Star Wars in Chronological Order?
Another popular way to watch the movies is in chronological order within the Star Wars timeline. While this order tells the story linearly, it does spoil some of the surprise twists within the Original Trilogy.
Since the films were released out of order and relied heavily on special effects, some of the changes can be jarring from film to film. This was especially true between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.
Here is the chronological order of Star Wars films:
- Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
- Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) [Optional]
- Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)
- Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) [Optional]
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) [Optional]
- 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 VII – The Force Awakens (2015)
- Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017)
- Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
What Is the Star Wars Machete Order?
First proposed by blogger Rod Hilton in 2011, the machete order allows viewers to experience the surprises of the Original Trilogy that are spoiled by the Prequel Trilogy. It starts with the first two films in the Original Trilogy, which is generally considered to be the strongest and most iconic part of the Star Wars franchise.
The order then moves on to the Prequel Trilogy, which explores the back story of the Original Trilogy. The original machete order omitted Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, which some fans consider the weakest of the prequel films. However, the modified machete order does include The Phantom Menace.
Since it was introduced before the Sequel and non-Saga films, the original machete order ends with Return of the Jedi. However, modern lists now include Sequels afterward. There is still a lot of debate about where the non-Saga films fit best.
Some fans feel that Rogue One and Solo are optionally included after A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back respectively. These placements limit spoilers and keep consistent with Hilton’s original idea for the machete order.
Still, other fans think both films belong either after Revenge of the Sith or after Return of the Jedi in the machete order. Ultimately, you can watch them in several different places throughout the movie series.
In our opinion, the best version of the machete order is as follows:
- Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) [Optional]
- Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
- Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) [Optional]
- Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) [Optional]
- Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) [Optional]
- Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)
- Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)
- 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)
How To Watch All of Star Wars in Order
If you want to watch all of Star Wars, there are 12 movies, 5 animated television series, and 4 live-action TV series within the canon timeline.
Here are all canon Star Wars Films and TV shows in chronological order:
- Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
- Tales of the Jedi – Season One (2022)†
- Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)
- The Clone Wars – Season One (2008/2009)
- The Clone Wars – Season Two (2009/2010)
- The Clone Wars – Season Three (2010/2011)
- The Clone Wars – Season Four (2011/2012)
- The Clone Wars – Season Five (2012/2013)
- The Clone Wars – Season Six (2014)
- The Clone Wars – Season Seven (2020)‡
- Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)
- The Bad Batch – Season One (2021)‡
- The Bad Batch – Season Two (2023)§
- Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
- Obi-Wan Kenobi – Season One (2022)
- Andor – Season One (2022)
- Rebels – Season One (2014/2015)
- Rebels – Season Two (2015/2016)
- Rebels – Season Three (2016/2017)
- Rebels – Season Four (2017/2018)
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
- 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 Mandalorian – Season One (2019)
- The Mandalorian – Season Two (2020)
- The Book of Boba Fett – Season One (2021/2022)
- The Mandalorian – Season Three (2023)§
- Ahsoka – Season One (2023)§
- Skeleton Crew – Season One (2023)§
- Resistance – Season One (2018/2019)#
- Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015)
- Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017)
- Resistance – Season Two (2019/2020)%
- Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Notes about the chronological order:
† – Some episodes occur at different points in the chronology.
‡ – Some episodes occur at the same time as Revenge of the Sith
§ – The exact placement is still TBD and could change slightly.
# – Some episodes occur at the same time as The Force Awakens.
% – Some episodes occur at the same time as The Last Jedi.
Here is the release order for all canon Star Wars Films and TV shows:
- 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: The Clone Wars (2008)
- The Clone Wars – Season One (2008/2009)
- The Clone Wars – Season Two (2009/2010)
- The Clone Wars – Season Three (2010/2011)
- The Clone Wars – Season Four (2011/2012)
- The Clone Wars – Season Five (2012/2013)
- The Clone Wars – Season Six (2014)
- Rebels – Season One (2014/2015)
- Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015)
- Star Wars: Rebels – Season Two (2015/2016)
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
- Rebels – Season Three (2016/2017)
- Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017)
- Rebels – Season Four (2017/2018)
- Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
- Resistance – Season One (2018/2019)
- Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
- Resistance – Season Two (2019/2020)
- The Mandalorian – Season One (2019)
- The Clone Wars – Season Seven (2020)
- The Mandalorian – Season Two (2020)
- The Bad Batch – Season One (2021)
- The Book of Boba Fett – Season One (2021/2022)
- Obi-Wan Kenobi – Season One (2022)
- Andor – Season One (2022)
- Tales of the Jedi – Season One (2022)
- The Bad Batch – Season Two (2023)
- The Mandalorian – Season Three (2023)
- Ahsoka – Season One (2023)
- Skeleton Crew – Season One (2023)
Rooks is an SEO strategist, copywriter, and content editor who occasionally masquerades as a designer, photographer, brewer, or cook.
A lifelong Star Wars geek, his earliest memories are playing with Kenner action figures while watching the Original Trilogy on VHS. Aside from keeping up with the latest Star Wars content, he enjoys living out his own Star Wars story at Galaxy’s Edge East.
Rooks is passionate about cooking and loves discussing and occasionally writing about food, beer, and cocktails. Never far from his emotional support laptop, you can often find him hammering out words at local coffee shops or breweries around Orlando.
His other interests include starting a new hobby every week, watching old Columbo episodes, and avoiding folding the laundry. Aside from Star Wars, his fandoms include the MCU, Harry Potter, Battlestar Galactica, and the Lord of the Rings.