How to Watch Star Wars Movies in Order: Explained by Release Order

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Since the initial film, Episode IV: A New Hope, was released in 1977, the Star Wars universe has developed exponentially.

Here’s an interesting fact regarding Star Wars: It was simply ‘Star Wars’ back then. The title ‘A New Hope’ was added in 1981 when George Lucas re-released the film.

So far, there have been nine Star Wars films in this epic fantasy, alongside two standalone films, Rogue One and Solo, and 2008’s computer-animated picture The Clone Wars.

There are countless options for supporters to binge-watch with its array of characters, alongside streaming programs like The Mandalorian on Disney+. And oh, while we’re talking about Disney Plus, you may also want to watch No Exit on Disney Plus or The King’s Man on Disney Plus.

Release Order of The Star Wars Movies

The Star War movies were released in the following order:

  • Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
  • Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
  • Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
  • Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
  • Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
  • Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
  • Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
  • Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
  • Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
  • Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
  • Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

Watch Star Wars Movies in Order

In this article, we will go through the ‘Skywalker Saga,’ and hope that it’ll help you watch all the Star Wars story rogue and Star War TV shows in order:

STAR WARS EPISODE 1: THE PHANTOM MENACE

star-wars-episode-i-the-phantom-menace

IMDb Rating: 6.5/10

Directed By: George Lucas

Starring: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd

Movie Lenght: 133 Minutes

Trailer Link: STAR WARS EPISODE 1: THE PHANTOM MENACE

The story shows Obi-Wan Kenobi in the galactic Republican days. He happens to be the apprentice of Qui-Gon Jinn.

Meanwhile, Qui-Gon rescues a Gungan outcast, Jar Jar Binks. Indebted to Qui-Gon, Jar Jar leads the Jedi to Otoh Gunga. However, the Jedi can’t persuade their leader, Boss Nass, to help the planet’s surface dwellers. Nevertheless, they do get access to the underwater transport to Theed.

On this planet, Princess Padme Amidala gets rescued from battle droids by Qui Gon and Obi-Wan. They board her in a ship passing through the federal blockade of Coruscant. But alas, the ship crash-landed on Naboo, beyond the republic’s jurisdiction. Meanwhile, Qui-Gon, Jar Jar, and a droid named R2D2 visit Mos Espa to purchase new hyperdrive parts.

On the way, they meet Anakin Skywalker, a slave who always dreamt of being a Jedi. Qui Jon believes that Anakin is “the chosen one” who will restore balance to the Force. Consequently, he tags along with them. En-route to their starship, Qui-Gon encounters Darth Maul. But after a lightsaber duel, he escapes aboard the starship.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan escort Padme to Coruscant. Here, they present her people’s case before Valorem and the Senate. Qui-Gon requests permission from the Jedi Council to train Anakin, but it declines. Qui-Gon, undeterred, swears to take Anakin as his new apprentice. Meanwhile, Senator Palpatine persuades Amidala to pick a more capable leader.

Despite her success in getting the vote of no confidence, Amidala decides to return to Naboo. Padme exposes herself as the queen to the Gungans, so they help her fight the Trade Federation. While the princess leads the search for Gunray, Jar Jar battles against the droid army. Additionally, Maul arrives with Gunray and duels with Qui Gon, killing him. Angered by this, Obi-Wan slices Maul into two. Before dying, Qui makes Obi-Wan a Jedi and the new master of Anakin.

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STAR WARS EPISODE 2: THE ATTACK OF THE CLONES

STAR WARS EPISODE 2 THE ATTACK OF THE CLONES

IMDb Rating: 6.5/10

Directed By: George Lucas

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Christopher Lee

Movie Lenght: 2 hours 22 minutes

Trailer Link: STAR WARS EPISODE 2: THE ATTACK OF THE CLONES

An original Star Wars film. Ten years after Naboo’s battle, a separatist movement led by Count Dooku poses a threat to the Galactic Republic. Senator Padme Amidala arrives on Coruscant to help the Jedi with an army. Obi-Wan and Anakin have the duty of protecting her. Moreover, Obi-Wan also needs to track down the bounty hunter that tried to assassinate Padme.

On the other hand, Anakin gets tasked with taking Padme back to Naboo. But at the same time, they fall in love.

When looking for the bounty hunter, Obi-Wan goes to a planet called Kamino. He discovers a clone army production under the name Syfo Dyes. These clones had the genetic template of a bounty hunter (Jango Fett).

Meanwhile, Anakin dreams that his mother is in pain. He then decides to visit her, but he learns that she is a captive in the Tuskin village. When he eventually finds her, she dies in his arms.

After killing off the whole tribe, Anakin vows to prevent the death of his loved ones. On the other hand, Obi-Wan finds the Separatists on Geonosis with a droid army. Additionally, Viceroy Gunray is the one responsible for the assassination attempts. And when Obi-Wan tries to convey the information, the droids capture him.

Count Dooku visits Obi-Wan’s cell and offers him a chance to work together and bring Sidious to justice. However, Obi-Wan refuses. Meanwhile, Senator Jar Jar votes for Chancellor Palpatine and gives emergency authorization to the clone army.

Anakin and Padme try to save Obi-Wan, but they get kidnapped by Jango, the bounty hunter. The group is sentenced to death by Dooku, but they get rescued by a Jedi battalion.

During the combat that follows, Windu of the Jedi beheads Jango. Dooku gets intercepted by Obi-Wan and Anakin. Dooku injures Obi-Wan and cuts Anakin’s right arm off, but Yoda saves them. Dooku distracts Yoda with the Force and flees to Coruscant, where he hands Sidious the plans for a super-weapon. And in the end, Anakin and Padme secretly get married.

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STAR WARS EPISODE 3: THE REVENGE OF THE SITH

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IMDb Rating: 7.5/10

Directed By: George Lucas

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid

Movie Lenght: 140 Minutes 

Trailer Link: STAR WARS EPISODE 3: THE REVENGE OF THE SITH

Official Star Wars movie. Obi-Wan and Anakin get appointed to save Chancellor Palpatine from Count Dooku. Commander-General Grievous duels above the planet Coruscant, in which Anakin defeats Count Dooku. In the aftermath, Grievous escapes, and Anakin beheads Count Dooku.

Obi-wan tells Anakin that he is going to look for Grievous. Meanwhile, Anakin meets Padme, who is pregnant. We also see that a sleeping Anakin dreams about Padme, who is in great pain. Meanwhile, on Utapau, Grievous transports the Separatist commanders to Mustafar. Yoda journeys to Kashyyyk to defend it from the Separatists, while Obi-Wan travels to Utapau to confront Grievously and kill him.

Back on Naboo, Anakin finds out that Palpatine is a Sith Lord Darth Sidious. He goes to arrest him, but he leaves him and tells Mace Windu that Palpatine is Sidious. In shock, Windu confronts Sidious and beats him.

When he tries to kill Sidious, Anakin cuts off Windu’s hand, and Sidious throws him off the building. Once Anakin joins the dark side, Sidious gives him the name “Darth Vader.”

After finding out about his betrayal, Obi-Wan seeks for Padmé to learn Vader’s whereabouts. Padme then travels to Mustafar, with Obi-Wan stowing away on her ship. And after seeing him on her spaceship, Vader strangles Padme. Obi-Wan then fights Vader and leaves him with many injuries.

On the other end, Yoda fights Palpatine and then leaves with Senator Bail Organa to the planetoid Polis Massa, where he meets Obi-Wan and Padmé. Padmé gives birth to twins; Luke and Leia but passes away herself. Palpatine rescues Vader so his mutilated body can undergo treatment.

Obi-Wan and Yoda go into hiding with the twins. Meanwhile, Palpatine and Vader supervise the Death Star’s construction. Bail brings Leia to Alderaan, where he and his wife adopt her. And Obi-Wan delivers Luke to his step-uncle and aunt, Owen and Beru Lars.

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STAR WARS EPISODE 4: A NEW HOPE

STAR WARS EPISODE 4: A NEW HOPE

IMDb Rating: 8.3/10

Directed By: Ron Howard

Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Woody Harrelson

Movie Lenght: 2 Hour 1 Minute 

Trailer Link: STAR WARS EPISODE 4: A NEW HOPE

In the original trilogy, we see that the republic is no more. On top of that, some Rebel Alliance spies steal plans for the Galactic Empire’s Death Star. Princess Leia Organa of the Rebellion has its blueprints. However, her starship gets intercepted by Darth Vader.

Before being apprehended, Leia hides the plans in R2D2’s memory system, which flees to the planet Tatooine. Jawa traders capture the droids and sell them to Owen and Beru Lars and their nephew, Luke Skywalker.

While cleaning R2D2, Luke comes across a distress call recording from Princess Leia. But shortly afterward, Luke gets attacked by scavenging Sand People. Nevertheless, he gets rescued by Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan listens to Leia’s message where she tells him to take the Death Star plans to her father in Alderaan. Although Luke initially declines Obi’s invitation to join him, he reconsiders after finding out that stormtroopers killed his uncle and aunt.

When Luke and Obi-Wan go to Mos Eisley for a ride, they hire Han Solo. Meanwhile, Death Star commander Grand Moff Tarkin interrogates Leia for the Rebel Alliance’s location. He then proceeds to destroy Alderaan before the Millenium Falcon’s intervention.

Moreover, the Death Star’s tractor beam captures the Falcon upon arrival. And as Obi-Wan departs to destroy the beam, Luke persuades Han and Chewbacca to help him free Leia. Obi-Wan sacrifices himself while duelling with Vader, allowing everyone else to escape.

With the help of a tracking device, the Empire tracks the Falcon to the rebel base on Yavin IV. The drawings disclose a flaw in the Death Star’s thermal exhaust port that might allow the Rebels to strike and damage the main reactor.

Luke joins their X-wing starfighter squadron to attack the oncoming Death Star. The Rebels take heavy losses in the next combat, as Vader leads the TIE fighters against them. Unexpectedly, Han and Chewbacca arrive with help in the Falcon, knocking Vader’s ship off course. Luke directs his torpedoes into the Death Star’s exhaust port, halting an attack on the Rebel base. Leia then presents Luke and Han with medals at a triumphant ceremony.

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STAR WARS EPISODE 5: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

STAR WARS EPISODE 5 THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

IMDb Rating: 8.7/10

Directed By: Gareth Edwards

Starring: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen

Movie Lenght: 2 Hour 4 Minutes 

Trailer Link: STAR WARS EPISODE 5: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

The story of this star wars episode iv takes us three years after the Death Star gets destroyed. The Imperial fleet sends the Probe Droids around the galaxy to find Princess Leia’s Rebel Alliance. Meanwhile, the Force spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi advises him to travel to Dagobah.

Han Solo comes across Luke and protects him from the elements until their rescue. When the Empire learns of the Rebels’ position, it attacks and makes the Rebels flee. Han and Leia take refuge in an asteroid field, where they grow closer. To find the Falcon, Vader calls many bounty hunters, including Boba Fett.

Meantime encounters Yoda, who accepts Luke as his Jedi pupil. Vader makes Lando surrender his group, knowing Luke would come. Luke has a vision of Han and Leia in distress and abandons his training to save them.

Before Vader freezes Han, Leia reveals her love for him. Han is saved and handed over to Fett, who plans to collect his bounty from Jabba the Hutt. Lando frees Leia and Chewbacca, but it’s too late to stop Fett.

In a lightsaber fight, Luke confronts Vader, where he gets injured and separated from his lightsaber. Vader encourages Luke to join the dark side and help him in killing Palpatine.

But Luke refuses, at which point Vader reveals that he is his father. After learning this, Luke successfully escapes in the Falcon and gets a prosthetic hand replacement. Meanwhile, Lando and Chewbacca leave to locate Han.

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STAR WARS EPISODE 6: THE RETURN OF THE JEDI

STAR WARS EPISODE 6 THE RETURN OF THE JEDI

IMDb Rating: 6.5/10

Directed By: George Lucas

Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness

Movie Lenght: 2 Hour 11 Minutes 

Trailer Link: STAR WARS EPISODE 6: THE RETURN OF THE JEDI

Disguised as the bounty hunter Boushh, Princess Leia infiltrates the palace to unfreeze Han but gets captured. Luke soon arrives to bargain for his friends’ release, but Jabba sentences them to death from the Sarlacc. However, Luke frees his friends, and they fight Jabba’s men. During the chaos, Leia strangles Jabba to death.

Afterward, Luke returns to Yoda to finish his training but finds out that he is dying. Before vanishing, Yoda confirms that there is another Skywalker.

The Alliance discovers that the Empire is building a second Death Star. As the station has an energy barrier, Han leads a strike squad to destroy the Death Star.

Luke surrenders and goes to the Emperor, who plans to convert him to the dark side. Meanwhile, Lando Calrissian and Admiral Ackbar attack the second Death Star.

Luke fights with Vader and servers his prosthetic hand. The Emperor, enraged, uses Force lightning to torment Luke. Vader then betrays the Emperor and tosses him down a reactor shaft, where he dies. Luke removes Vader’s mask, at which point his father also dies.

Lando and Wedge Antilles smash the Death Star’s primary reactor, and the Rebel fleet destroys the Imperial command ship. Luke, on the other hand, takes a shuttle to safety.

STAR WARS EPISODE 7: THE FORCE AWAKENS

STAR-WARS-EPISODE-7-THE-FORCE-AWAKENS

IMDb Rating: 7.8/10

Directed By: Irvin Kershner

Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams

Movie Lenght: 2 hours 16 Minutes 

Trailer Link: STAR WARS EPISODE 7: THE FORCE AWAKENS

This sequel trilogy begins thirty years after the original, where the Galactic Empire has collapsed. The Resistance, commanded by General Leia Organa, resists the First Order. Meanwhile, Luke is missing. However, Resistance pilot Poe Dameron obtains a map directing him to Luke’s whereabouts. Kylo Ren’s Stormtroopers assault the hamlet and kidnap Poe. BB-8, Poe’s robot, flees with the map and meets Rey, a scavenger.

Stormtrooper FN-2187 (Finn) frees Poe, and the two flee on a stolen TIE fighter, but a Star Destroyer shoots them down, killing Poe. Finn comes upon Rey and BB-8, and they leave the planet in the Millenium Falcon. Han Solo and Chewbacca discover the Falcon and also board it.

Supreme Leader Snoke permits General Hux to unleash the weapon for the first time on the New Republic at the First Order’s Starkiller Base. Meanwhile, Han explains that Luke attempted to rebuild the Jedi Order until an apprentice turned to the dark side.

Leia arrives at Takodana with C-3PO and reunites with Han. Meanwhile, Kylo captures Rey and takes her to Starkiller Base, but she resists his mind-reading attempts. BB-8 discovers R2-D2, which has been dormant since Luke’s abduction.

In the meantime, the Resistance devises a strategy to destroy Starkiller Base by targeting its thermal oscillator. Han, Chewbacca, and Finn use the Falcon to enter the facility, locate Rey, and lay explosives. Han meets Kylo and tells him to leave the dark side but ends up getting murdered. In response, Chewbacca shoots Kylo and escapes in the Falcon with Rey and Finn.

Starkiller Base implodes as the Resistance soldiers retreat. R2-D2 provides the rest of the map, leading Rey to Luke at Ahch-To.

STAR WARS EPISODE 8: THE LAST JEDI

STAR WARS EPISODE 8 THE LAST JEDI

IMDb Rating: 6.9/10

Directed By: Richard Marquand

Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams

Movie Lenght: 2 Hour 32 Minutes 

Trailer Link: STAR WARS EPISODE 8: THE LAST JEDI

This story begins moments after the First Order attacks, and General Leia needs to evacuate the base. Poe Dameron conducts a costly counter-offensive against Leia’s instructions, destroying a First Order dreadnought.

The surviving Resistance flees, but the First Order assaults them once more. But after detecting Leia’s presence, Kylo hesitates to fire. But his wingmen destroy the bridge, and Leia gets pulled into space.

Vice-Admiral Holdo takes command of the Resistance while Leia is recovering. Meanwhile, Luke refuses to help the Resistance. He admits to considering murdering Kylo when he sensed Snoke was corrupting him.

The spirit of Yoda emerges and destroys the Jedi library with a lightning bolt. He urges Luke to take lessons from his mistakes. In the meantime, Poe assigns a covert mission to Finn, mechanic Rose, and BB-8 to destroy the First Order’s tracking device.

The First Order fleet begins firing on the evacuation ships, destroying many of them. Despite being ordered to murder Rey, Kylo kills Snoke and destroys his Praetorian Guard. Holdo makes the ultimate sacrifice as she slices through Snoke’s flagship. Rey manages to avoid the apocalypse, but Kylo proclaims himself Supreme Leader.

Poe, Finn, and Rose assault with outdated speeders when the First Order comes. In the Millennium Falcon, Rey and Chewbacca lure TIE fighters away. Rose intervenes to prevent Finn from sacrificing himself. Luke appears and confronts the First Order, allowing the surviving Resistance to escape.

Kylo engages Luke in a duel and soon realizes that he isn’t physically present. Meanwhile, Rey helps the Resistance escape on the Falcon. Back on Ahch-To, Luke dies peacefully, becoming one with the Force.

STAR WARS EPISODE 9: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER

STAR WARS EPISODE 9 THE RISE OF SKYWALKER

IMDb Rating: 6.5/10

Directed By: J.J. Abrams

Starring: Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley

Movie Lenght: 2 hour 22 Minutes 

Trailer Link: STAR WARS EPISODE 9: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER

In the grand finale of the Skywalker saga, the revived Emperor Palpatine sends Kylo to Exegol. Palpatine reveals the Final Order and orders Kylo to murder Rey, who is still training.

Poe Dameron and Finn provide intelligence that Palpatine is on Exegol. To locate Rey, Kylo forms a Force link and journeys to Pasaana with the Knights of Ren. With the help of Lando, Rey and her allies track down the clue—a dagger with Sith writing. Rey notices Kylo nearby and turns to confront him.

The First Order then takes ahold of Chewbacca, the dagger, and the Falcon. The remaining gang leaves on Ochi’s ship and makes their way to Kijimi for a Wayfinder. But when Rey finds out that Chewbacca is alive, they embark on a rescue mission.

The Falcon is flown to the Wayfinder by the gang in the Endor system. Rey recovers the Wayfinder from the second Death Star’s ruins, but Kylo confronts her, who smashes the Wayfinder.

In the last act, Leia uses the Force to communicate with Kylo, distracting him while Rey impales him. Rey heals Kylo after learning of Leia’s death and takes his ship to Ahch-To to exile herself.

Palpatine decides to demolish Kijimi, sensing Leia’s death. Meanwhile, Rey gives R2-D2 her location, allowing the Resistance to track her down and attack the Sith fleet.

When Ben (Kylo) lands on the planet, he joins Rey to battle Palpatine Palpatine renders Ben unconscious and strikes Rey with lightning. However, she uses Luke and Leia’s lightsaber to block it and destroy Palpatine. Since she also gets killed in the process, Ben uses the Force to resurrect her.

In the meantime, the Resistance destroys Palpatine’s armada and returns to their base.

The Skywalker saga ends with Rey going back to Tatooine, where she buries Leia’s lightsaber.

What are the Upcoming Star Wars Movie

The world is becoming increasingly complex these days, with Disney Plus hosting enough new Star Wars TV episodes to fill a star cruiser. On the platform, The Mandalorian, The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars Resistance, and The Bad Batch are already available.

Many more, including Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka, and Andor, are on the way, starting with The Book of Boba Fett on December 29, 2021. There’s also a lot of non-canon content, such as Star Wars Visions anime action and The Story of the Faithful Wookiee, which is a survival of the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special.

Star Wars Movies on Disney Plus

You can find the following Star Wars movies on Disney Plus:

  • Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (movie)
  • Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (movie)
  • The Clone Wars CG-animated movie
  • The Clone Wars CG-animated series (TV)
  • Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (movie)
  • Star Wars: The Bad Batch animated series (TV)
  • Solo: A Star Wars Story (movie)
  • Obi-Wan Kenobi (TV)
  • Star Wars: Rebels animated series (TV)
  • Andor (TV)
  • Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (movie)
  • Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (movie)
  • Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (movie)
  • The Mandalorian (TV)
  • The Book of Boba Fett (TV)
  • Ahsoka (TV)
  • Star Wars: Resistance animated series (TV)
  • Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (movie)
  • Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (movie)
  • Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (movie)

Conclusion

All in all, this whole saga remains a global phenomenon. However, people will have mixed opinions due to their love for the original trilogy. Nevertheless, Star Wars TV shows fans talk about this saga up to this day because the storyline and the characters shall long remain in their hearts.

Enjoy watching the Star Wars movies in order!

 

Chris Mack

Chris Mack

Meet Chris Mack, your go-to expert for the best of BBC iPlayer with a twist—he's also a cybersecurity enthusiast. Whether you're into British entertainment classics or searching for hidden gems, Chris has you covered, always with an eye for secure streaming practices. Beyond the screen, Chris blends his love for reading and exploring the outdoors with a passion for staying ahead in the world of cybersecurity, ensuring a safe viewing experience. If you're looking for top British TV picks or tips on keeping your digital viewing secure, Chris is your guide. Dive into the drama of British TV with Chris!


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