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) Film
- The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Film
- Return of the Jedi (1983) Film
- The Phantom Menace (1999) Film
- Attack of the Clones (2002) Film
- Revenge of the Sith (2005) Film
- The Clone Wars (2008) Series
- Rebels (2014) Series
- The Force Awakens (2015) Film
- Rogue One (2016) Film
- The Last Jedi (2017) Film
- Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) Film
- Star Wars Resistance (2018) Series
- The Rise of Skywalker (2019) Film
- The Mandalorian (2019) Series
- The Bad Batch (2021) Series
- Star Wars: Visions (2021) Series anthology, outside the timeline
- The Book of Boba Fett (2021) Series
- Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022) Series
- Andor (2022) Series
- Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi (2022) Series anthology, spans eras
- Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures (2023) Series
- Ahsoka (2023) Series
- The Acolyte (2024) Series
- Star Wars: Tales of the Empire (2024) Series anthology, spans eras
- Skeleton Crew (2024) Series
- Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld (2025) Series anthology, spans eras
- The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026) Film
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.
- Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures (2023) Series High Republic era
- The Acolyte (2024) Series
- The Phantom Menace (1999) Film
- Attack of the Clones (2002) Film
- The Clone Wars (2008) Series runs between Episodes II and III
- Revenge of the Sith (2005) Film
- The Bad Batch (2021) Series
- Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) Film
- Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022) Series
- Andor (2022) Series
- Rebels (2014) Series
- Rogue One (2016) Film
- Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) Film
- The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Film
- Return of the Jedi (1983) Film
- The Mandalorian (2019) Series
- The Book of Boba Fett (2021) Series
- Ahsoka (2023) Series
- Skeleton Crew (2024) Series
- The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026) Film
- Star Wars Resistance (2018) Series leads into the sequel films
- The Force Awakens (2015) Film
- The Last Jedi (2017) Film
- The Rise of Skywalker (2019) Film
Keep your place
I Like Movies, the free 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. Or browse every guide and comparison.