The Star Wars film series is one of the biggest and best of all time. It has spanned almost fifty years and has spawned numerous movies, TV series, books, and video games. With the recent release of the widely anticipated Obi-Wan Kenobi series, interest in Star Wars is at a renewed high and many fans (old and new) will be going back to watch the films. As a result, many will be asking “what is the order of Star Wars movies?” – however, that question has multiple answers. So, let’s take a look at the Star Wars series and explore the best viewing options…
Star Wars Film Series
What was the first Star Wars movie?
The first movie in the series was Star Wars which came out in 1977. In 1981, it was retroactively named “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope”.
George Lucas has explained that the subtitle was intended to be included from the beginning; however, it was omitted from the initial release to avoid confusing audiences: “Star Wars was the fourth story in the saga and was to have been called ‘Star Wars, Episode Four: A New Hope‘.” Mark Hamill has said he asked Lucas about why they were starting with Episode 4, to which Lucas replied that he wanted “to give the audience a feeling that they’d missed something and that they were coming into the middle of this story”. As it turned out, the audience had in fact missed a whole trilogy of films chronicling Anakin Skywalker’s transformation into Darth Vader.
Original Star Wars Trilogy
The original Star Wars trilogy consists of Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi. It tells the story of Luke Skywalker and his journey to becoming a Jedi under the tutelage of Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi, as well as the battle between the Rebel Alliance and the evil Galactic Empire lead by Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine.
How many Star Wars movies are there?
In total, there are eleven live-action Star Wars films. They are:
| The Original Trilogy | The Prequel Trilogy | The Sequel Trilogy | Anthology Films |
| Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope | Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace | Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens | Rogue One |
| Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back | Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones | Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi | Solo |
| Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi | Star Wars: Episode III – The Revenge of the Sith | Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker | – |
There is also one animated movie, Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Star Wars Movie Order
When Did Star Wars Come Out?
The first option for watching Star Wars is to watch each movie in the order in which they came out. For those asking “When did Star Wars come out?”, this is what you need to know:
- 1977 – Episode IV – A New Hope
- 1980 – Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
- 1983 – Episode VI – The Return of the Jedi
- 1999 – Episode I – The Phantom Menace
- 2002 – Episode II – Attack of the Clones
- 2005 – Episode III – The Revenge of the Sith
- 2015 – Episode VII – The Force Awakens
- 2016 – Rogue One
- 2017 – Episode VIII – The Last Jedi
- 2018 – Solo
- 2019 – Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker
Star Wars Chronological Order
The chronological order of Star Wars movies isn’t the most straight forward, mainly thanks to the non-linear sequence in which they came out. However, watching the series chronologically is probably the best order to watch Star Wars. Below is the timeline/fictional chronology of Star Wars movies…
Timeline of Star Wars
- Episode I – The Phantom Menace
- Episode II – Attack of the Clones
- Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
- Solo
- Rogue One
- Episode IV – A New Hope
- Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
- Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
- Episode VII – The Force Awakens
- Episode VIII – The Last Jedi
- Episode IV – The Rise of Skywalker
Order for Watching Star Wars
For those asking, “what is the order of Star Wars movies?”, the best order for watching Star Wars is chronologically. Start with the prequels, Episodes 1 through 3, followed by Solo and Rogue One. Next, move on to the original trilogy, Episodes 4 through 6. Finally, complete the movies with the sequel trilogy, Episodes 7, 8, and 9. If you have time, be sure to fit in the Obi-Wan Kenobi TV series between Solo and Rogue One.
For those asking “what is the order of Star Wars movies?”, which viewing order would you recommend? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other Film & TV articles…
