Star Wars timeline explained: Here’s the best order to watch the movies

Star Wars isn’t just a bunch of movies; it’s practically a religion at this point. George Lucas kicked off the saga in 1977 with A New Hope, and that movie cracked open the universe for generations of nerds, dreamers, and cosplayers. There is political drama, there is laser swordplay, there is that whole good-vs-evil thing that never gets old. Also, there are space wizards who can choke you with their minds.

Anyway, Star Wars has mutated into an absolute beast: movies, shows, books, comics, video games, lunchboxes, you name it. The fandom is actually wild. People will argue for hours about the best lightsaber color or whether Han shot first. (He did, obviously.)

If you want to boil it down, Star Wars is a space opera — big drama, bigger explosions — in a galaxy “far, far away.” Sure, it is mostly about the Rebels fighting the Empire, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

The Skywalker family drama is a cosmic-scale soap opera, and the Force is the mystical glue holding everything together, with the Jedi and the Sith swapping places between hero and villain.

Let us talk the OG movie for a second: Everything kicks off in the middle of a galactic smackdown. Rebels steal the plans for the Empire’s planet-killer (Death Star). Princess Leia gets nabbed by Darth Vader but manages to stuff the plans into a droid (R2-D2) and ship him off to Tatooine.

Luke Skywalker goes from bored farm kid to space hero in almost no time. He teams up with old man Obi-Wan (the original space dad), Han Solo (smuggler, scruffy-looking nerf-herder), and Chewbacca (fuzzy legend). Together, they try to blow up the Death Star and save the galaxy.

Star Wars doesn’t stick to one timeline, by the way. You have the prequels, the original trilogy, and the sequels. It is all tangled up in spin-offs and side stories, so if you are new, good luck figuring out the “right” order to watch everything.

So, what is the best order to watch the Star Wars movies?

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The structure of the Star Wars saga

The Star Wars timeline is a wild ride. You have the main story split into three chunks: the Prequels (Episodes I–III, those late '90s/early 2000s films with way too much CGI), the OG classics (Episodes IV–VI, old-school magic from the late '70s and early '80s), and then the Sequels (Episodes VII–IX, which dropped between 2015 and 2019).

But they have tossed in spin-off movies like Rogue One and Solo, plus a whole avalanche of shows — The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, for instance.

All this extra stuff kind of fills in the blanks and gives you more reasons to argue about the “right” way to watch everything.

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Plot overview by trilogy

Prequel trilogy

Episode I: The Phantom Menace – So, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi are cruising around, doing their Jedi thing, and they stumble across Anakin Skywalker. Just a kid stuck as a slave, but apparently he is prophesied as the “Chosen One”. The whole movie is kind of a setup for the political mess that is about to blow up. We are talking about shadowy deals, weird trade disputes, and all those things that eventually snowball into the Clone Wars.

Episode II: Attack of the Clones – Fast-forward a decade, Anakin has grown up, and now he is a Jedi apprentice. The galaxy is getting messier by the minute. Meanwhile, Anakin is busy falling head over heels for Padmé Amidala, but he also stumbles on a creepy plot that lights the fuse for the Clone Wars.

Episode III: Revenge of the Sith – The Clone Wars are in full meltdown mode. Chancellor Palpatine finally drops the “nice old man” act and shows off his Darth Sidious persona. He pulls Anakin over to the dark side, and Anakin becomes Darth Vader. The Jedi get wrecked, and the Empire rises from the ashes. Not exactly a happy ending, unless you were rooting for the bad guys.

Original trilogy

Episode IV: A New Hope – Here’s Luke, the farm kid being pulled out of his boring Tatooine life by the old wizard Obi-Wan. Next thing you know, he is hanging with a bunch of rebels, blowing up the Death Star, and going toe-to-toe with this dude in all black — Vader.

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back – The Empire is ticked off and chasing the Rebels all over the galaxy. Luke ditches his friends to go train with Yoda. Then, Vader drops the ultimate family bombshell.

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi – Time for the grand finale! The Rebels roll in for one last shot at taking down the Empire. Luke faces off with Vader and the Emperor. Vader saves the day, and the Emperor gets what was coming to him.

Sequel trilogy

Episode VII: The Force Awakens – So, the Empire is gone, but The First Order pops up, causing chaos all over again. Rey is just out here scavenging for scraps when she figures out she has some wild Force powers.

Episode VIII: The Last Jedi – Rey is on a quest to find Luke Skywalker, who is hiding out somewhere. Meanwhile, the Resistance is hanging by a thread. Everything you thought you knew about the Jedi turns out not so clear-cut.

Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker – Guess who’s back? Palpatine. Rey finally finds out who her family is, and it’s… complicated. The Resistance somehow pulls off a last-minute win against the Sith, and hope gets a reboot.

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The Star Wars timeline: Canon and continuity

The Star Wars timeline is officially divided into several eras:

First up, there is The High Republic. It is old-school Jedi, way before Luke or Vader ever strutted onto the scene. These folks were space wizards at their absolute peak, handling business centuries before all the Skywalker family drama.

Then there is the Fall of the Jedi. That’s the prequel stuff — Anakin, Obi-Wan, the Republic going up in flames, Jedi getting smoked left and right.

After that comes the OG trilogy era: Age of Rebellion. This is where you get Han, Leia, and Luke blowing up Death Stars and giving the Empire a major headache.

Next, The New Republic. This is the post-Empire clean-up crew — trying to put the galaxy back together. Shows like The Mandalorian unfold here, with bounty hunters, weird politics, and Baby Yoda memes.

Then we jump to the Rise of the First Order. That is the sequel trilogy — new characters, more planet-exploding drama, and Rey doing her thing.

And now, we are headed into the New Jedi Order era, with Rey apparently picking up the pieces and trying to reboot the whole Jedi gig.

Meanwhile, in 2014, Lucasfilm put a Legends sticker on most of the old books, games, and comics, so only the movies and some handpicked shows count as “official” canon now.

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The best order to watch Star Wars: A comprehensive analysis

Release order

• Original trilogy: IV, V, VI (1977–1983)
• Prequel trilogy: I, II, III (1999–2005)
• Sequel trilogy: VII, VIII, IX (2015–2019)
• Standalone films: Interspersed as released

There’s nothing like getting smacked in the face with those jaw-dropping twists the way audiences did back in the day, if you are watching in release order. Plus, you get to see how the special effects and storytelling kind of level up from movie to movie.

However, after you finish the original trilogy, suddenly jumping decades backward for the prequels can feel… lost. If you are new to this, that timeline whiplash might leave you scratching your head for a sec.

Chronological order

It follows the in-universe timeline:

• Prequel trilogy: I, II, III
• Solo: A Star Wars Story
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
• Original trilogy: IV, V, VI
• Sequel trilogy: VII, VIII, IX

If you watch the movies in chronological order, it is easier to keep up with who’s who and all the political mess, like, no jumping back and forth trying to remember which character became evil when. The story just moves straight ahead, no time travel headaches.

But here’s the catch: you totally ruin all those jaw-dropping reveals. Like, finding out Vader is Luke’s dad, which is supposed to blow your mind, not be some casual fact you already know because you watched the prequels first. Plus, the vibe in those early movies doesn’t always match the originals — sometimes it just feels off, and it can turn newbies off before they even get to the good stuff.

Machete order

Machete Order refers to how some die-hard fans cooked up a viewing order to make the story hit harder and the character development pop. It is not the way George Lucas laid it out, but it slaps if you want the drama and surprises to land just right.

• IV: A New Hope
• V: The Empire Strikes Back
• II: Attack of the Clones
• III: Revenge of the Sith
• VI: Return of the Jedi

(Episode I is often omitted, as some fans consider it less essential)

You get all the jaw-dropping reveals from the original trilogy, plus Anakin’s whole tragic mess gets dumped on you as a flashback. It hits way harder when you know his backstory just before things go haywire at the end.

However, it ditches The Phantom Menace, so if you are new to Star Wars, you are probably squinting at the screen wondering who half these people are and why anyone cares about midichlorians.

Ultimate canon order (Including TV and spin-offs)

• The High Republic
• The Acolyte
• Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi
• Episode I: The Phantom Menace
• Episode II: Attack of the Clones
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars
• Star Wars: Tales of the Empire
• Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
• Star Wars: The Bad Batch
• Solo: A Star Wars Story
• Obi-Wan Kenobi
• Andor
• Star Wars Rebels
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
• Episode IV: A New Hope
• Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
• Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
• The Book of Boba Fett (flashbacks)
• Star Wars: Tales of the Empire
• The Mandalorian (Seasons 1–2)
• Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
• The Book of Boba Fett (main story)
• The Mandalorian
• Ahsoka
• Star Wars Resistance
• Episode VII: The Force Awakens
• Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
• Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker
• New Jedi Order

If you want to dive headfirst into the saga, buckle up, because you will get the absolute deepest lore, all the tangled-up character drama, and enough political backstabbing to make your head spin. But it’s a lot. Like, a lot lot.

If you are just starting, it might feel like you have been thrown into the deep end without a life jacket. But if you have the time, start right away.