How to Watch 'Star Wars' in Order, Including the Prequels, Sequels, TV Series, and One-Off Movies

Yes, it all starts here: The first of the "prequel trilogy," which begins the story of the Skywalker clan by meeting up with Anakin when he was just a young podracer on Tatooine. You also get to meet a young Obi-Wan Kenobi and a villainous Darth Maul.

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Romance blossoms between Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, while sinister forces make moves to upset the balance of power in the rest of the galaxy. Will Anakin follow his heart, or the Jedi order?

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This computer-animated TV series takes place in the years between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith — it makes sense, since, after the clones attack, there's the war. This long-running series just aired its seventh season on Disney+ in February 2020. And if this is your favorite Star Wars era, there's an older, shorter, harder-to-find 2D animated series called The Clone Wars that aired in 2003 and was made by animation great Genndy Tartakovsky.

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The prequel trilogy concludes with this darker, more serious films For those with real little fans at home, this one might be too upsetting.

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There's a lot of material that attempts to bridge the big time gap between the prequel trilogy and A New Hope. This fun adventure movie, directed by Ron Howard and meant to be a stand-alone, goes into the backstory of Han Solo and his famous piloting of the Kessel Run.

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This computer-animated TV series takes place about five years before the events of A New Hope. It follows a group of characters who try to do the right thing even in the midst of dark times for the galaxy, providing the seeds for a rebellion. The main characters are mostly new, but you can find people from both Clone Wars and A New Hope popping up.

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This movie, about rebels who attempt to steal the plans of the infamous Death Star. If you're familiar with what happens in A New Hope, you know how it turns out for them.

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This is the OG. The first movie of the original trilogy — the first blush of Star Wars ever put out into the world — A New Hope introduced audiences to the world of Jedi, rebellious princesses, bounty hunters, and Darth Vader.

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Often regarded as the best Star Wars film, this one has lots of the classic moments you associate with the series. ("I love you."/"I know.") Chances are, if you're catching a Star Wars reference somewhere else, it's from this movie.

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Do stand-alone Ewok movies count? Probably not — especially since you can't stream them anywhere at the moment — but if you feel they are essential viewing for completist purposes, these take place between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

The original trilogy concludes with this film, where our heroes travel to Endor, meet Ewoks, and stage the ultimate battle of good against evil.

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Aka, the TV series with "Baby Yoda" (who is technically known as "The Child," but looks like a baby version of Yoda). The series debuted in 2019 on Disney+, and a second season is planned for this year. The series takes place between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, but feels separate since it doesn't concern itself with Jedi or Sith.

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First airing on the Disney Channel, this kid-friendly Star Wars TV series follows a group of good guys shortly before and during the events of the sequel trilogy. The series ended in 2020 after two seasons.

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This movie kicks off the "sequel trilogy," introducing characters like Rey, Finn, Poe, Kylo Ren, and BB-8. They have to find their way in the world, all while dealing with the legacy left to them by the earlier rebellion.

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The second entry in the sequel trilogy was directed by Rian Johnson, who also won acclaim for the recent Knives Out. And, as with all good middle installments, it's about the characters learning something new about their pasts.

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The whole saga — more than a dozen movies in all — concludes with this movie, which deepens the relationship between the main characters and their connections to the past. It brings the whole Skywalker family saga to a close ... at least for now. (Rise of Skywalker is expected to come to Disney+ this summer).

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Because forget what was said before — we all know release order is the one, true, right order (at least for a first viewing). If you want to watch things *correctly,* you'd do it like this:

1. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
2. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
3. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)
4. Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (1984)
5. Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985)
6. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
7. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)
8. Star Wars: The Clone Wars Tartakovsky Version (2003)
9. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)
10. Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)
11. Star Wars Rebels (2014)
12. Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015)
13. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
14. Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017)
15. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
16. Star Wars Resistance (2018)
17. The Mandalorian (2019)
18. Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019)