Star Wars Timeline: How to Watch Every Star Wars Movie & TV Show in Order

May. 6, 2024

If we talk about the history of cinema, there have been a lot of franchises that have molded how modern cinema is. However, if there is one movie saga that has marked a turning point in sci-fi it has to be the Star Wars franchise. Star Wars has one of the most expansive universes that can lead you in a cobweb where you can’t understand what’s going on. So, to help you not get caught in that web, let’s learn about the chronological order to watch the Star Wars movies and TV shows and how everything fits into the Star Wars Timeline

Star Wars Movies and Shows in Order

The Phantom Menace released in 1999 is set before the events that took place in the original trilogy of Star Wars hence making it the first movie that you should watch before going through the rest of the content from Star Wars. This movie features a young Anakin Skywalker who is supposed to bring back balance to the force. Even though Phantom Menace is not one of the critically hit Star Wars movies it is considered to be one of the cult classics.

The second movie to serve as a prequel is Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, this movie’s landscape is set 10 years after the events we witnessed in The Phantom Menace this movie revolves around a rather older Anakin Skywalker along with Obi-Wan Kenobi as they discover new threats in the galaxy that eventually leads up to one of the most famous events in the Star Wars universe, The Clone Wars.

Before the new Clone Wars series started, an animated movie with the same name was released a couple of months before. It took place not long after Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. James Arnold Taylor was back as Obi-Wan Kenobi, but they changed the voice for Anakin to Matt Lanter and introduced Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano. They all continued in the series afterward.

“Star Wars: The Bad Batch” is a follow-up story to The Clone Wars and takes place after the wars come to an end. It focuses on Clone Force 99, a team of exceptional clone troopers, as they embark on mercenary missions in the aftermath of the Clone Wars. As of now, Season 3 of this series is running on Disney Plus.

“Solo: A Star Wars Story.” is set way before the main Star Wars Trilogy. It introduces us to Han Solo, who grows to be one of the most important characters in the Star Wars franchise. This movie happened 10 years before the first Star Wars movie, and it focuses on the adventures of Han and his friend Chewbacca both of whom are highly popular characters to date.

“Star Wars Rebels” is an animated show set more than 10 years following the events of the third Star Wars movie and five years before the fourth one. This series primarily focuses on how The Rebellion began in the Star Wars universe. The show has a total of four seasons with 75 episodes combined, so there’s a lot to watch if you’re interested in how the Rebellion began.

“Star Wars: Andor” has a very similar setting to “Star Wars Rebels.” It takes place five years before the fourth Star Wars movie and elaborates on the story behind how the Rebel Alliance started. Cassian Andor, played by Diego Luna, is the main character leading the series. The first season has 12 episodes, the second season is currently under production.

Taking place right before the events of the fourth Star Wars movie. “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” revolves around a band of Rebels, including Andor, who are planning to steal the Death Star plans. This movie was the first standalone spin-off from Star Wars and boasted a rather strong cast including, Ben Mendelsohn, Felicity Jones, Mads Mikkelsen, and Donnie Yen.

Following all of the events we talked about up to now,Star Wars Chapter 4: A New Hopetakes us back to the original Skywalker storyline. This movie revolves around Luke Skywalker who Obi-Wan Kenobi is training to become a Jedi. In this movie, we see Luke on a mission to rescue a Rebel leader named Princess Leia with the help of Han Solo and Chewbacca.

The Empire Strikes Back is a direct continuation of Star Wars Chapter 4 set three years apart. This movie showcases the rebels as they continue their battle against the imperial forces of Darth Vader. We also get to see Luke being trained in the ways of the Jedi by Yoda while Darth Vader is seen to attempt to lure Luke to join the Dark Side.

This movie is the final chapter in the complete Skywalker storyline. Star Wars Chapter 6 is set exactly one year after the events ofEmpire Strikes Back. This movie revolves around the massive assault carried out by the Rebels on their mission to destroy the newly rebuilt Deathstar. We also get to see a final confrontation between Luke and Darth Vader in this movie leading up to the climax of the Skywalker Saga and opening up doors for new stories as well as new characters for the future.

After the fall of the Empire, there was a significant gap between the rise of The First Order, and this gap gave rise to certain amazing new stories in the Star Wars universe. One of these stories that left a special mark in the hearts of people was The Mandalorian. This series streaming on Disney Plus is a Wild West-style series revolving around a bounty hunter named Din Djarin played by Pedro Pascal and his adventures with Grogu, a rather unlikely companion.

Making his first appearance in Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of The Clones, Boba Fett is a character that has been around for a while in this galaxy far far away. We get to see Boba as a bounty hunter in the same timeframe as The Mandalorian. The Book of Boba Fett revolves around him leaving the life of a bounty hunter behind and dedicating himself to taking over and protecting a territory previously governed by Jabba the Hut.

Ahsoka brings back the highly popular Jedi Knight into a spinoff series. However, there has been a lot of confusion about where this show fits in the timeline. In an interview with SFX magazine Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Sabine Wren’s actress stated that“Ahsoka runs along the same timeline as The Mandalorian season 3, and the shows are all connected. There’s just so many parallels.”

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” once again gets us back on track with the original Star Wars Storyline. This movie brings a new team of Rebels along with a new threat called The First Order. In this movie, we get to see Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, an ex Stormtrooper named Finn, played by John Boyega, Han Solo played by Harrison Ford, and a Resistance Pilot named Poe played by Oscar Issac. We get to see this band of rebels come together and track down Luke Skywalker in an attempt to Bring down The First Order.

The Last Jedi takes place right after the events of Episode 7. In this movie, we see Ray continue the search for Luke Skywalker in hopes of getting him to take a stand with the Resistance. While this pursuit takes place on one side, on the other hand, Finn is also seeking help from a mechanic called Rose Tico, played by Kelly Marie Tran with both of them working together to help Resistance members stay safe and hidden from the raids orchestrated by The First Order.

With this movie, the tale of Star Wars and the Skywalker Saga reaches its grand finale. InRise of The Skywalker,we get to see the Rebel forces take a final stand against The First Order and Kylo Ren, the main antagonist of this sequel trilogy. Even though this movie was not exactly a massive success it is safe to say that it was a well-delivered tribute to the legacy of Star Wars.

The epic of Star Wars took place in a galaxy far far away and brought us a story that a generation grew up with and will probably continue to live as long as humanity holds its ground on the face of Earth. However, Star Wars might play an important role in the Sci-fi genre through the years to come but in the world of Star Wars, years are calculated quite differently than we do.

The first movie to ever come out of Star Wars wasStar Wars: The New Hopereleased in 1977. The main event of that movie was the destruction of the first Death Star by the Rebel Forces and the Jedi in theBattle of Yavin. After this, The Battle of Yavin became a focal point in the whole Star Wars Saga and nowevery event in the Star Wars franchise is measured in BBY (Before Battle of Yavin) and ABY (After Battle of Yavin).

So for instance if an event in Star Wars took place 2 Years before the Battle of Yavin it would be called 2 BBY and if it happened 2 Years after it, that would be called 2 ABY. This system putsA New Hopein the center of Star Wars and everything else in a segregated timeline around it.

Shashank Shakya is an Entertainment Writer and has completed his Bachelors(Honours) with English Literature. He is a published writer. He boasts incomparable knowledge about the Marvel and DC universes along with other branches of entertainment with substantial experience in the field of writing.