Star Wars watch order
Star Wars is the franchise where the watch-order argument started: the films came out in a different order than the story happens. Release order preserves the big reveals and is the right first watch. Timeline order tells the story front to back and is the better rewatch, especially with the series woven in.
Both complete orders are below, films and series together, updated as new titles arrive. Series appear at the date their first season aired.
Release order, films and series
How the world met Star Wars. The Empire reveal stays a reveal this way.
-
Star Wars: A New Hope 1977 -
The Empire Strikes Back 1980 -
Return of the Jedi 1983 -
The Phantom Menace 1999 -
Attack of the Clones 2002 -
Revenge of the Sith 2005 - Series
The Clone Wars 2008 - Series
Rebels 2014 -
The Force Awakens 2015 -
Rogue One 2016 -
The Last Jedi 2017 -
Solo: A Star Wars Story 2018 - Series
Star Wars Resistance 2018 -
The Rise of Skywalker 2019 - Series
The Mandalorian 2019 - Series
The Bad Batch 2021 - Series
Star Wars: Visions 2021 anthology, outside the timeline - Series
The Book of Boba Fett 2021 - Series
Obi-Wan Kenobi 2022 - Series
Andor 2022 - Series
Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi 2022 anthology, spans eras - Series
Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures 2023 - Series
Ahsoka 2023 - Series
The Acolyte 2024 - Series
Star Wars: Tales of the Empire 2024 anthology, spans eras - Series
Skeleton Crew 2024 - Series
Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld 2025 anthology, spans eras -
The Mandalorian and Grogu 2026
Timeline order, films and series
The story front to back. Anthology collections (Visions and the Tales entries) sit outside a single timeline and are listed in the release order above instead.
- Series Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures 2023 High Republic era
- Series The Acolyte 2024
- The Phantom Menace 1999
- Attack of the Clones 2002
- Series The Clone Wars 2008 runs between Episodes II and III
- Revenge of the Sith 2005
- Series The Bad Batch 2021
- Solo: A Star Wars Story 2018
- Series Obi-Wan Kenobi 2022
- Series Andor 2022
- Series Rebels 2014
- Rogue One 2016
- Star Wars: A New Hope 1977
- The Empire Strikes Back 1980
- Return of the Jedi 1983
- Series The Mandalorian 2019
- Series The Book of Boba Fett 2021
- Series Ahsoka 2023
- Series Skeleton Crew 2024
- The Mandalorian and Grogu 2026
- Series Star Wars Resistance 2018 leads into the sequel films
- The Force Awakens 2015
- The Last Jedi 2017
- The Rise of Skywalker 2019
Keep your place
I Like Movies, the free iPhone and Android app behind this page, carries a curated Star Wars track: the same catalogue as above, in watch order, with your progress marked per film and per episode. Ratings and a watchlist come along for everything else you watch.
Questions people ask
What order should I watch Star Wars in for the first time?
Release order: the original trilogy, then the prequels, then the sequels, with Rogue One and Solo slotted where they came out. It preserves the reveals the saga is famous for. The full timeline order is the better second pass, when spoilers no longer matter and the series can be woven in where they belong.
Where does Andor fit in the Star Wars timeline?
Before Rogue One, which it leads directly into, and both sit just before A New Hope. In the timeline list above the stretch runs Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, Rebels, Rogue One, A New Hope.
Do I need to watch The Clone Wars before the newer series?
It helps more than any other single series. Ahsoka, the Mandalorian era and The Bad Batch all draw characters and history from it. It is long, so a first watch survives skipping it, but the rewatch with it included is a different and richer story.
More watch orders: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Middle-earth, Dune, Wizarding World, Fast & Furious, Alien, Dragon Ball, Naruto, Neon Genesis Evangelion, James Bond, Mission: Impossible, John Wick. Or browse every guide and comparison.