:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Star-Wars-A-New-Hope-Revenge-of-the-Sith-The-Rise-of-Skywalker-021425-7f7e18d7e02f4a0fbb552f33428d5619.jpg "How to watch the ‘Star Wars’ movies in order (chronological and release date)")
With Star Wars, George Lucas created a fully realized galactic playground with the potential for endless settings, cultures, characters, and stories. We’ve gone backward and forward in that universe ever since, with Lucas masterminding an entire saga and then passing the baton to others — from Dave Filoni to J.J. Abrams — to follow in his footsteps.
In 1977, he plopped viewers into the middle of his story. The nine-episode epic began with Episode IV, but the adventures of Luke, Leia, Han, a pair of droids, and Darth Vader were actually introduced in the middle of the saga. The original trilogy is legendary — the perfect thing to hook a budding fan — while the prequel and sequel trilogies are pivotal yet divisive. In between, wars, missions, and origin stories have gotten their own big-screen showcases on the timeline.
Here’s how to watch the Star Wars movies in chronological order, from The Phantom Menace to The Rise of Skywalker.
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (Episode I) (1999)
Lucasfilm Ltd.
Darth Vader was such a towering figure in the imagination of Star Wars fans that anticipation for his origin story was impossibly high. Thus, it was practically inevitable that viewers would be disappointed with The Phantom Menace, though the film has regained its reputation in recent years.
Younger audiences have fond memories of Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi and the pod racing sequences — not to mention that awesome duel between Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul. Meanwhile, the childhood of Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), introduced as a messianic figure, sets the stage for the trilogy’s central tragedy.
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (Episode II) (2002)
Lucasfilm
Like all Star Wars trilogies, the prequel series gets dark in its second installment. Attack of the Clones offers a renewed emphasis on action, but also our first hint at Anakin’s (Hayden Christensen) bleak fate.
Now the official Jedi protege of Obi-Wan, Anakin begins a romance with Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman), now a member of the Galactic Senate. Meanwhile, the seemingly benevolent Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) operates both in public, in his role as Chancellor, and in private as something of a puppetmaster pulling the strings of Count Dooku and even Anakin himself.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)
Lucasfilm Ltd.
Dave Filoni and his Clone Wars saga have a special place in the hearts of Star Wars fans. Although it mostly unfolded on TV, the popular series actually began with this animated feature. Set just after Attack of the Clones, the film involves not only the start of the eponymous wars but further political machinations involving Dooku and Jabba the Hutt.
The Clone Wars features several fan favorites, including Anakin’s apprentice, Ahsoka Tano, who wouldn’t appear in live-action until The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and finally her own series, Ahsoka.
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (Episode III) (2005)
Lucasfilm
If you thought Attack of the Clones was bleak, you ain’t seen nothing yet. The dark side of the Force shows its true power in the prequel trilogy’s conclusion, as the Republic crumbles and Emperor Palpatine rises to take its place. He’s gotten his hooks into the increasingly powerful yet perpetually disgruntled Anakin, who’s now as talented in the dark side as he is in the light.
Revenge of the Sith, the culmination of the Skywalker tragedy that backgrounds the original trilogy, culminates with a fateful, heartbreaking duel — and the birth of two profoundly important twins.
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Jonathan Olley/ Lucasfilm Ltd.
Although they were dark times for citizens of the Empire, the period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope has been a gold mine for storytelling. Here, we discover the origins of Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich), whom we meet as an orphan before moving on to a burgeoning career as the galaxy’s most dashing smuggler.
He’s got some competition, though — Solo also introduces Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover), the only man in Star Wars whose charisma can compete with Han’s. What comes between the two friendly rivals? Why, it’s the Millennium Falcon, which becomes the ultimate poker chip.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Jonathan Olley/ Lucasfilm Ltd.
While Star Wars has historically borrowed its tone from B-movies and swashbuckling serials, Rogue One brought a new, more serious approach to its subject matter. A gritty film that leads directly to the events of A New Hope, Rogue One was the first Star Wars movie to lean into the “war” part.
Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) and Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) lead a group of rebels on a suicide mission involving plans for the Empire’s secret new weapon, the Death Star. The film’s fatalistic yet revolutionary spirit carries over to its acclaimed sister series, Andor.
Star Wars: A New Hope (Episode IV) (1977)
Lucasfilm
Star Wars (later subtitled A New Hope) was a massive hit and unprecedented sensation upon its release in May 1977. Contemporaneous news footage shows fans waiting in line for hours to watch the movie over and over. What were they so eagerly clamoring to see? A tale of rebellion — a farm boy, a princess, a rogue, and a couple of trusty droids — that would become an iconic slice of American culture.
Chronologically, this is the culmination of the relationship between the wise Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), and his former apprentice, Darth Vader.
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V) (1980)
Everett Collection
Widely accepted as both the best Star Wars movie and a sci-fi classic in its own right, The Empire Strikes Back is a darker, more dramatic film than its predecessor. The Death Star, the very target of Rogue One’s rebel plot, has been destroyed; the Empire — namely Darth Vader and his malevolent master, the Emperor — is on the hunt for rebels. That now includes the aforementioned farm boy, Luke Skywalker, who’s getting a crash course in Jedi knighthood from a curious, swamp-dwelling master of the force called Yoda. This all builds, of course, to the plot twist of the century.
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (Episode VI) (1983)
Lucasfilm Ltd.
The conclusion of the original trilogy has many loose ends to tie up, not the least of which is the preceding chapter’s familial twist. Darth Vader attempts to recruit Luke Skywalker to the dark side, just as he was once turned years earlier.
Return of the Jedi is a grand romance, a swashbuckling adventure, and a redemptive family drama. It features some of the franchise’s most iconic imagery — including Princess Leia in chains (plus how she uses them against her captor) — and introduces the Ewoks, the most adorable yet dangerous little furballs in the galaxy.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Episode VII) (2015)
David James/Lucasfilm Ltd.
Generations went by between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, a massive movie event that took its cues squarely from A New Hope for its adventurous tone, its underdog story, and its characters. The film introduces a new force-sensitive orphan, Rey (Daisy Ridley), and a new black-clad big bad, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) — this one angrier and more petulant than the last. Their dance will shape the remainder of the franchise.
Let’s not forget the familiar faces — Han Solo, back to his smuggling ways, and General Leia Organa — or the other newcomers, including the adorable technological marvel BB-8.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Episode VIII) (2017)
John Wilson/Lucasfilm Ltd.
Rian Johnson’s entry is controversial in fan circles. Those willing to “let the past die” will find it’s the most thematically complex movie in the series, pushing Star Wars’ ideas of good and evil — not to mention the Force — in intriguing new directions.
The Last Jedi challenges questions and expectations set up in the prior episode while deepening the scary, intimate bond between Rey and Kylo. This is one of the most artfully made installments as well: The throne-room lightsaber battle is an all-timer, and the silence that accompanies “the Holdo maneuver” is like nothing else in the franchise.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Episode IX) (2019)
© 2019 Lucasfilm Ltd.
By this point, we’re 12 movies in, so perhaps it’s understandable that some fatigue has set in — even among those making the movies. The Rise of Skywalker is weaker than the two previous installments in the sequel trilogy, but it still provides a fine conclusion to the Skywalker family saga.
The film builds to a space battle of galactic proportions that pits the Sith and the Jedi against each other in a final confrontation that brings an entire galaxy of characters together on screen. Plus: Babu Frick.
The Star Wars movies in order by release date:
- Star Wars: A New Hope (Episode IV) (1977)
- Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V) (1980)
- Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (Episode VI) (1983)
- Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (Episode I) (1999)
- Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (Episode II) (2002)
- Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (Episode III) (2005)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Episode VII) (2015)
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Episode VIII) (2017)
- Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Episode IX) (2019)
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