What are the 12 Star Wars movies in order? That galaxy far, far away has gotten much bigger since Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012. So it might be harder for new fans or the “Star Wars curious” to know where to begin.
When looking at the suggested viewing order of Star Wars post-Disney, you can either go by release date or chronologically in the Star Wars in-universe timeline. We’ll list both viewing orders of Star Wars in the Disney era, as well as some suggested alternatives.
The 12 Star Wars Movies in Chronological Order
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
- Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (and subsequent animated series)
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
- Solo: A Star Wars Story
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
- Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
- Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
- Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
- Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker
The 12 Star Wars Movies in Order of Release Date
- 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: The Clone Wars (and subsequent animated series) (2008)
- 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)
The George Lucas Star Wars Movies in Order of Release Date
While Disney now owns the rights to Star Wars, only the first seven Star Wars movies were either written and directed by George Lucas, or overseen by George Lucas. In fact, Disney scrapped Lucas’ own outlines for Episodes VII, VIII and IX, leading to a well-documented rift between the company and the Star Wars creator.
- 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: The Clone Wars (and subsequent animated series) (2008)
The Disney Star Wars Timeline may get more complicated with new Disney+ streaming series.
While these suggested Star Wars viewing orders work for the movies, Disney plans on releasing several Disney+ Star Wars series over the next few years.
Currently, The Mandalorian takes place between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. It would appear that the other announced series would mostly take place during that timeframe, but The Acolyte is supposed to take place before The Phantom Menace.
If this all sounds too complicated, you can always kick it old school and just watch and re-watch Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi and ignore everything else.
Hey, it worked for decades.
Pirates & Princesses (PNP) is an independent, opinionated fan-powered news blog that covers Disney and Universal Theme Parks, Themed Entertainment and related Pop Culture from a consumer's point of view. Opinions expressed by our contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of PNP, its editors, affiliates, sponsors or advertisers. PNP is an unofficial news source and has no connection to The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal or any other company that we may cover.