Star Wars Movies (Release Order) Watching Order

This watching order is designed to give an outline of the Star Wars movie franchise. It shows the films in order of their release date, which is often considered the recommended way to watch the films, especially if watching them for the first time. It also looks at any connections between them. 

Jump to: Original Trilogy – Prequel Trilogy – Sequel Trilogy

Original Trilogy

The original trilogy of Star Wars films was released across the late 70s and early 80s. These three films started the entire Star Wars franchise.

The three films in this era are Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V- The Empire Strikes Back, and Star Wars: Episode VI- Return of the Jedi. The story stretching through these three films is mostly self-contained and highlights the battle between the Rebel Alliance and the Empire. Specifically, it centers around Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Leia Organa, and Darth Vader.

Prequel Trilogy

The prequel trilogy of Star Wars films was released across the late 90s and early 2000s. These films take place around 30 years before the events of the original trilogy. In this way, they provide backstory about the state of the galaxy in the original trilogy and, specifically, provide origin stories for many of its characters.

The three films in this era are Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II- Attack of the Clones, and Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith. The story stretching through these three films is mostly self-contained and highlights the battle between the Galactic Republic and the Separatist Alliance (Confederacy of Independent Systems). Specifically, it centers around Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padmé Amidala, and Sheev Palpatine.

Sequel Trilogy

The sequel trilogy of Star Wars films was released over the course of the 2010s. These films take place around 30 years after the events of the original trilogy. In this way, they explore how the conclusion of Return of the Jedi shaped the galaxy and they continue the narrative of many main characters from the original trilogy.

The main films in this era are Star Wars: Episode VII- The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode XII- The Last Jedi, and Star Wars: Episode XI- The Rise of Skywalker. The story stretching through these films is mostly self-contained and highlights the battle between the New Republic and the First Order. Specifically, it centers around Rey, Finn (FN-2187), Poe Dameron, and Kylo Ren.

The films in this era were also accompanied by two anthology films. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is set immediately before A New Hope and provides a lot of additional background for the events in that film. Solo: A Star Wars Story is set sometime between the Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One and generally provides an origin story for Han Solo. Rogue One is essentially unconnected to the sequel trilogy and was simply released in this period of time. However, Solo provides the backstory for a set of dice that appear in The Last Jedi, giving it a connection to the sequel trilogy.

All Star Wars Watching Orders