Star Wars: The best order to watch every movie and TV show

Another year, another Star Wars movie lightspeeds into cinemas around the galaxy. This year, 2019, marks the release of Star Wars: Episode IX, the final instalment of the Skywalker story that first began in 1977.

While many would argue for watching the various movies and TV shows in release order – meaning events such as the Darth Vader reveal have their proper impact – others, such as George Lucas himself, have taken to processing the wide spectrum of content in chronological order (for a more in-depth look at the various watching orders, read our article here).

So, where to start? Below, we break down the Star Wars timeline, featuring only the major cannon material, broken into easy to discuss segments. We have stuck to the films and TV shows for the purpose of this piece, rather than delve into comics, books, games, online promotional material, etc.

Prequels

Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Episode II: Attack of the Clones

The Clone Wars (film)

The Clone Wars (seasons 1 - 6 plus unfinished episodes)

Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

While perhaps the worst reviewed era of Star Wars, the prequels establish how a young boy became the most-feared villain in all the galaxy. Timeline wise, the prequels are also quite messy – all thanks to The Clone Wars TV series. Two episodes take place before the 3D animated movie, the series often jumping backwards in time to explore other characters. For the series to make the most sense, fans should watch in the intended order and not ruin the surprise of going backwards.

Midquels

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Star Wars Rebels (seasons 1 – 4)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Ever watched the original trilogy and wondered how Han Solo became the dry-witted smuggler fans adore? Or how the Rebel Alliance got those Death Star plans? Well, the midquels (not an official name) have you covered, as they answer the questions you had previously used your imagination to answer. Unlike The Clone Wars, fellow 3D animated TV show Rebels has a much more straight forward timeline – the series following a group of rebels as they confront the Empire.

Rumour has it that an Obi-Wan Kenobi movie may also be heading to cinemas following Episode IX, the movie likely taking place before A New Hope. That’s just a rumour though (with lots of backing evidence) and will be added here if proven true. Critics have also noted that a Solo leaves things open for a sequel, while producer Kathleen Kennedy has spoken about a possible Lando spin-off. Plus, there was once a Boba Fett movie in the works. Whatever the case, there are definitely going to be another few Anthology movies added to the midquels list soon enough.

Originals

Episode IV: A New Hope

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Where the series all began. The original trilogy will likely forever be praised as the greatest era of Star Wars movies. Disney has yet to announce any TV shows or spin-offs that take place between the three main episodes, although – with the company delving into many characters’ backgrounds – perhaps we should expect something one day.

Sequels

The Mandalorian

Star Wars Resistance

Episode VII: The Force Awakens

Episode VIII: The Last Jedi

Episode IX: ???

After Disney acquired LucasFilm for $4 billion, they quickly began churning out Star Wars movies, beginning with The Force Awakens. Now, the company are further investigating the post-Return of the Jedi era, unveiling Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian (to debut on their upcoming streaming service) and a 2D animated series centred on a young fighter pilot in Resistance.

Spin-offs

So, what about that Rian Johnson trilogy? And the David Benioff and D. B. Weiss (Game of Thrones showrunners) trilogy? Yes, those are still being developed, but where they will take place on the timeline, who can say? They will reportedly have nothing to do with Skywalkers, making for something of a drastic change.