Chronological & Best Viewing Plan

The Star Wars story has grown beyond just the movies, so what is the best viewing order for every film and TV series to date? There are a few options.

What is the best order to watch all the Star Wars films and TV series? Star Wars is one of the greatest transmedia franchises of all time. While George Lucas launched Star Wars on the big screen in 1977, the first tie-in novel - Alan Dean Foster's Splinter of the Mind's Eye - was published less than a year later. The Expanded Universe grew to include books, comics, video games, and more, and although the canon was essentially rebooted after Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, it has since flourished anew.

If you want to stay abreast of all things Star Wars, you have to dabble in a lot of different mediums; there are movies, live-action and animated TV shows, comics, and novels. It's easy to feel intimidated in the face of such a broad range of content, so for many fans a better alternative is to settle for the films and TV series. This is easier than ever before, courtesy of the Disney+ streaming service.

In total, there are 16 Star Wars movies and TV shows for fans to view (with more on the way on screens both big and small). But what is the best order to watch all this? Opinions differ, but here are the four main options.

Star Wars in Chronological Order

The most obvious viewing order is, of course, chronological in terms of in-universe events. This approach gives a proper sense of the generational nature of Star Wars, kicking off with a strong focus on Anakin Skywalker, passing the torch to Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, and then to Rey and Kylo Ren. Unfortunately things get complicated with Star Wars: The Clone Wars, because that show ran through arcs in thematic terms rather than in chronological sequence. Ironically, an adjusted viewing order really benefits this series, emphasizing a remarkably strong continuity and giving a strong narrative payoff as the series builds to a climax. Fortunately, Lucasfilm has published a correct viewing order for The Clone Wars, which seems like a tacit acknowledgment the show works best after a "normalization" process. Moving to the sequel trilogy era, Star Wars Resistance starts before the films, but by season 1, episode 20 it's caught up to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and prominently features the destruction of Hosnian Prime. Season 2 is initially concurrent with, and then runs beyond, Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

The main weakness with this approach for the franchise as a whole is that viewers lose any real sense of surprise in the original trilogy. When Return of the Jedi revealed that Leia is actually Luke's sister, audiences were left reeling in shock. Another famous twist is when Darth Vader revealed his true identity as Luke Skywalker's father in The Empire Strikes Back. To be fair, though, most people will be well aware of these twists, so that won't really be a problem. Here's the list:

Star Wars By Release Order

A second option, which again seems logical, is to watch the franchise in release order. This preserves the sense of surprise in the original trilogy, and means viewers get to experience the galaxy unfolding before them as writers, directors, and showrunners originally intended. This is star Mark Hamill's preferred Star Wars viewing order, although even he admits it's difficult. A major issue is an edit to Return of the Jedi made by George Lucas in the 2000s, when he added Hayden Christensen's Force Ghost into the final scene. This was intended to be a powerful redemptive moment, and it falls flat if viewers aren't already familiar with Christensen's Anakin Skywalker. Meanwhile, the TV shows add another layer of complexity to it all, because they were released one season at a time. After Disney purchased Lucasfilm, Star Wars: The Clone Wars was abruptly canceled in 2013; a partially-completed season 6 was released, and season 7 only recently premiered on Disney+, making the whole thing even more awkward. Combined with the fact that it wasn't released chronologically as well, even long-time Star Wars viewers struggle with the correct viewing order for Star Wars: The Clone Wars. In truth, if you're watching content in terms of release order, it's probably best to sub-divide this by films and then TV series, and then to view each show as a whole. Here are the release dates for the films:

And here is the release order for the first season of each series:

• 2008 - Star Wars: The Clone Wars
• 2014 - Star Wars Rebels
• 2018 - Star Wars Resistance
• 2019 - The Mandalorian
• 2021 - Star Wars: The Bad Batch
• 2022 - Obi-Wan Kenobi

Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Order

Of course, viewers may feel this is all too much trouble and thus decide to go with a chronological order - but only focus on the Skywalker saga. This makes sense, given the story of the Skywalkers - Anakin, Luke, and Rey - is the franchise's central narrative. None of the other movies or TV shows are really essential viewing, instead simply expanding the universe in an immersive way. Again, watching this in terms of the Skywalker saga loses some of the dramatic impact from the original trilogy, but those twists are known. Here's the order:

• Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
• Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
• Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
• Obi-Wan Kenobi
• Star Wars
• The Empire Strikes Back
• Return of the Jedi
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Star Wars: The Machete Order

Another great way to see the Skywalker saga movies is the so-called "Machete Order," a very efficient and innovative approach, created to maintain all the character beats. It opens with the original trilogy, then skips back to the prequels to flesh out Darth Vader's backstory. Most proponents of the Machete Order advocate skipping Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, which is viewed as non-critical. This is probably not fair, given Qui-Gon's death sets Anakin on the road to becoming Darth Vader. Still, with the exception of that controversial decision, the Machete Order is a strong one. The surprises are still impactful, with the narrative building to Vader's "I am your father" revelation and then spinning back in time to explain Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side. Only one minor twist is spoiled; that Leia is Luke's sister, which is revealed in the end of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. The Star Wars Machete Order was originally created before the release of the sequel trilogy, so those have been added here.

• Star Wars
• The Empire Strikes Back
• (Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace)
• Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
• Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
• Return of the Jedi
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Unfortunately, the Machete Order only works in the context of the Skywalker saga itself, rather than all Star Wars movies and shows. The various tie-ins TV shows and even the anthology movies disrupt it, but it is an interesting and unique way to watch the main episodic installments.

Where Does Obi-Wan Kenobi Fit Into Star Wars' Timeline?

Obi-Wan Kenobi, starring Ewan McGregor as the titular Jedi Master, happens in 9BBY - 10 years after the events in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and 9 years before the first-ever movie, Star Wars: A New Hope. Obi-Wan Kenobi explores crucial moments in both Obi-Wan and Darth Vader's history and timeline, revealing many previously unknown events between the last movie in the prequels and Luke meeting Obi-Wan for the first time in A New Hope. Jedis like Yoda, Princess Leia Organa, Ahsoka Tano, Quinlan Vos, and Grogu are all alive in this timeline as well. As the Disney+ series happens around a year after Solo: A Star Wars Story, this also means that Han Solo and Chewbacca are already roaming the galaxy. Notably, the Empire in Obi-Wan Kenobi is largely unopposed, as it will be several years before the galaxy's freedom fighters form the Rebel Alliance. Similar to the setting of Star Wars Rebels, it is a dark time for the galaxy, and Jedi Inquisitors serve Sith Lords by dutifully hunting any and all Jedi that survived Order 66. Obi-Wan Kenobi is undoubtedly a crucial addition to the Skywalker Saga, and in terms of the Machete Order, the series should be viewed last.

More: Revenge of the Sith Is The Best Star Wars Story Ever Told (Just Not Lucas' Version)