PCMag Middle East

How to Watch the Star Wars Movies in Order

If you have Disney+, it's never been easier to marathon the Star Wars franchise. But in what order should you watch? Before you press play, here are several options for your Star Wars binge.

Jason Cohen
By Jason Cohen 
(Credit: Lucasfilm)

You can watch the entirety of the Star Wars franchise with a Disney+ subscription. This includes the original trilogy, prequel movies, and sequels, plus the standalone films. Want even more from the galaxy far away? Try original series like The Mandalorian, Andor, and Clone Wars. The latest addition to the TV lineup, The Acolyte, hit the video-streaming site today.

It's never been easier to marathon the whole franchise, but before you press play on the first movie, it's important to decide your preferred viewing order. Do you start with the original trilogy or the prequel movies? What about the standalone films and the television shows? Here is how to watch Star Wars in order, whichever order you choose.

Chronological Order

George Lucas had always intended for the original Star Wars film to be a small part of a much larger story. So just because it was the first film to be released doesn't mean it's the start of the story. Instead of going with release order, you can also try chronological order based on when the movies are supposed to take place.

This would mean starting with Episode I, II, and III of the prequel trilogy, before moving to IV, V, VI of the original movies, then finishing with VII, VIII, IX from the sequels. If you're adding the standalone films, you can fit Rogue One and Solo in between Episodes III and IV, and it should work fine.

However, since this order completely ruins the Darth Vader reveal in the original films, it is not advisable that anyone should watch these movies for the first time in this order. Watching Star Wars in chronological order is more of a fun experiment for longtime fans to see the series from a new perspective.

If you were to watch the Star Wars films in chronological order, it would look like this: 

Theatrical Release Order

The most obvious answer is theatrical release order, since this is how the movies were shown and what George Lucas intended. It starts with the original trilogy, then takes us back to the prequel movies, before finishing with Disney's sequel films.

Following this order, you get the story of Luke overcoming Darth Vader, followed by Vader's origin story, then see Rey pick up the legacy Luke left behind. This can get a little awkward if you intend to add the standalone Star Wars films to your watch party. Going by release date, Rogue One and Solo would interrupt the sequel trilogy.

If you're doing a re-watch and are interested in preserving the storyline of the core movies, just skip these two films. They have no impact on the overarching narrative, anyway. First-timers who want the full experience can certainly watch them in release order, or place the standalone films before or after the sequel trilogy. 

If you want to go by release order, your marathon should look like this:

Machete Order

If you have already seen everything in release and chronological order, there's another option to try: Machete Order. This order splits the difference and has you watch Episodes II and III in between Episodes V and VI.  

You start with A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, but then things get wonky. Just after Luke discovers the truth about Darth Vader, turn to the prequels as a flashback sequence. Watch Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith to witness how a young Anakin Skywalker was consumed by the Dark Side, before finishing with Return of the Jedi.

The Machete Order cuts out Phantom Menace entirely, since almost everything in the movie is self-contained and has no effect on the other prequels. Qui-Gon Jinn plays no importance to the greater story. Midi-chlorians are barely mentioned again. You also basically avoid Jar Jar Binks entirely. It isn't perfect, though, so watch at your own risk.

If you're not happy about removing Episode I and are also wondering where the sequel movies fit in here, the original creator of the Machete Order has a suggestion. In an update to his original post, Rod Hilton says to watch Episodes VII, VIII, and IX after the other movies. You can then treat Episode I as an anthology, like Rogue One and Solo.

So if you go by the Machete Order, you would watch the movies as follows: 

Disney's Narrative Timeline

But what about the television shows? Star Wars has become more than just movies, with The Clone Wars, Rebels, Andor, and The Mandalorian taking over the conversation in recent years. While there's no specific watch order for all these different pieces of the Star Wars universe, Disney has released an official timeline.

You probably assumed that The Clone Wars animated series takes place between Episodes II and III, but what about the others? According to Disney, Star Wars: Rebels is set before the events of A New Hope. The Mandalorian takes place after Return of the Jedi but before the Star Wars: Resistance animated series.

If you happen to be crazy enough to watch every movie and show in chronological order, here's what that would look like: 

The Best Star Wars Games

You could also certainly make the case that some Star Wars video games fit into the franchise's greater canon, but that's a huge ask for anyone other than the most devoted fans. Instead, if you're looking for even more Star Wars goodness, consider some of the best video games from a galaxy far away. The latest is Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, which we found to be an excellent example of a modern single-player Star Wars game that adheres to the brand without feeling derivative.

Everything Still to Come

Over the last few years, Disney has announced many different Star Wars projects that were in various stages of development. However, a vast majority of these productions have floundered before filming could start. Rian Johnson, Taika Waititi, Patty Jenkins, and Shawn Levy have all been attached to films (or full trilogies) that eventually fell apart. However, there are still many projects still in the works.

As of this writing, James Mangold is attached to write and direct a film set 25,000 years before A New Hope in an era called the "Dawn of the Jedi." Star Wars: The Clone Wars creator Dave Filoni is expected to direct a film that brings The Mandalorian story to an end. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is also set to direct a film that follows Rey Skywalker and her New Jedi Order, with Daisy Ridley returning to the role.

Separately, Jon Favreau is also working on The Mandalorian & Grogu, which is expected to see a theatrical release as early as 2026. Donald and Stephen Glover are currently connected to a Lando Calrissian project that will have Donald Glover reprise his role from Solo. What was initially expected to be a TV show has now been reconfigured as a theatrical film release.

As for TV, Ahsoka Season 2 is now in production and Andor Season 2 has been delayed to 2025. Skeleton Crew, a new show starring Jude Law that features a group of kids lost in the galaxy far away and their journey home, is still expected to premiere at some point in 2024.

Star Wars Vintage

Disney may be pushing Star Wars TV hard, but it's not the first time the franchise has been on the small screen. Old TV movies and animated series were hard to find, until they were added to Disney+ under the Star Wars Vintage banner.

While you still can't stream the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special in its entirety, a few classics have been made available to watch during the course of your marathoning:

  • The Story of the Faithful Wookie - The animated portion from the 1978 Holiday Special that introduced Boba Fett.
  • Caravan of Courage - A 1984 made-for-TV film about two children who meet a band of Ewoks while searching for their missing parents.
  • Ewoks: The Battle For Endor - The 1985 sequel to the first Ewok film, which sees a young child and her Ewok companions fight a group of invading marauders.
  • Ewoks - A spin-off animated series centered on a group of Ewoks that ran for two seasons between 1985 and 1986.
  • Star Wars: Droids - An animated series starring R2-D2 and C-3PO that ran for one season in 1985.
  • Star Wars: Clone Wars - An animated micro-series about the Clone Wars, created by Genndy Tartakovsky and lasting for three seasons between 2003 and 2005.
More Inside PCMag.com

About Jason Cohen

More From Jason Cohen