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Star Wars Movies – Full List and Watch Order Guide

TheStarWarsfranchisecompriseselevenlive-actionfilmsandoneanimatedfeaturereleasedbetween1977and2019,spanningthreetrilogiesandtwoanthologyspin-offsthatcollectivelydefinetheSkywalkerSagaandadjacentgalactichistory.

Navigatingthecorrectviewingorderpresentsdistinctconsiderationsfornewcomers,withoptionsrangingfromreleasesequencetostrictin-universechronology.Eachapproachoffersspecificnarrativeadvantages,whilethefranchise’sexpansionintoDisney+seriesduring2024hasshiftedfocusawayfromtheatricalreleases.

CompleteListofStarWarsMoviesinReleaseOrder

TotalLive-ActionMovies:11
FirstRelease:1977
MainSagaDirector:GeorgeLucas(EpisodesI–VI)
WorldwideBoxOffice:$10B+
ThefranchiseencompassesnineepisodicSkywalkerSagafilmsalongsidetwolive-actionanthologyentriesandoneanimatedtheatricalrelease.StarWarsMovies–CompleteReleaseandChronologicalOrderprovidesadditionalviewingguidance.

  • TheoriginaltrilogybeganwithANewHopeon25May1977,establishingthefranchise’sculturalfootprint
  • GeorgeLucasdirectedsixoftheninesagafilms,includingthecompleteprequeltrilogy(1999–2005)
  • Thesequeltrilogy(2015–2019)washelmedbyJ.J.AbramsandRianJohnson
  • Spin-offfilmsRogueOne(2016)andSolo(2018)expandcanonicaleventswithoutfeaturingepisodenumbers
  • The2008animatedCloneWarsfilmservesasabridgebetweenEpisodesIIandIII
  • Runtimesrangefrom121minutes(ANewHope)to155minutes(TheRiseofSkywalker)
  • Episode/Film ReleaseYear Director Runtime EpisodeIV–ANewHope 1977 GeorgeLucas 121min EpisodeV–TheEmpireStrikesBack 1980 IrvinKershner 124min EpisodeVI–ReturnoftheJedi 1983 RichardMarquand 132min EpisodeI–ThePhantomMenace 1999 GeorgeLucas 133min EpisodeII–AttackoftheClones 2002 GeorgeLucas 142min EpisodeIII–RevengeoftheSith 2005 GeorgeLucas 140min EpisodeVII–TheForceAwakens 2015 J.J.Abrams 138min EpisodeVIII–TheLastJedi 2017 RianJohnson 152min EpisodeIX–TheRiseofSkywalker 2019 J.J.Abrams 155min RogueOne:AStarWarsStory 2016 GarethEdwards 133min Solo:AStarWarsStory 2018 RonHoward 135min The2008animatedfeatureStarWars:TheCloneWars(directedbyDaveFiloni)isexcludedfromthislive-actiontallybutremainscanonical,fittingbetweenEpisodesIIandIIIasnotedbySpace.com.

    WhatIstheBestOrdertoWatchStarWarsMovies?

    Viewingpreferencesdivideprimarilybetweenreleaseorder,whichpreservesnarrativesurprisesasexperiencedbyoriginalaudiences,andchronologicalorder,whichfollowsthein-universetimelinefromthefalloftheRepublicthroughtheriseoftheFirstOrder.RottenTomatoesmaintainsthatreleasesequenceremainsoptimalforfirst-timeviewers.

    ReleaseOrder(1977–2019)

    Thissequencemirrorshistoricaltheatricaldistribution:EpisodesIV,V,VI(OriginalTrilogy),followedbyI,II,III(PrequelTrilogy),thenVII,VIII,IX(SequelTrilogy),withRogueOneandSoloinsertedbytheirreleasedates(2016and2018).Thisapproachpreservesthe1980revelationregardingDarthVader’sidentityandmaintainsthestructuralintegrityoftheoriginaltrilogy’sstorytelling.

    RecommendedApproachforNewcomers Releaseorderprotectsmajorplottwistsfromtheoriginaltrilogythatchronologicalviewingwouldrevealprematurely.ThissequenceremainsthestandardrecommendationfromWishesandWayfindingandotherspecialistguides.

    ChronologicalOrder(In-UniverseTimeline)

    ArrangedbygalactictimelineusingBBY(BeforeBattleofYavin)andABY(AfterBattleofYavin)dating,thisorderruns:EpisodesI–III,TheCloneWars(22–19BBY),Solo(13–10BBY),RogueOne(0BBY),EpisodesIV–VI(0–4ABY),andEpisodesVII–IX(34–35ABY).Whilethisprovidescoherenthistoricalprogression,itsacrificestheoriginaltrilogy’sdramaticreveals.

    TimelinePositioning RogueOneconcludesimmediatelybeforeANewHope,creatingaseamlesstransitionintotheoriginaltrilogy.SoloexploreseventsroughlyadecadepriortoANewHope,detailingthesmuggler’searlyyearsaccordingtoWikipedia’sStarWarsfilmography.

    TheMacheteOrder

    Thisfan-devisedhybrid(notofficiallyendorsed)suggestsviewingEpisodesIVandV,thentheprequeltrilogy(I–III)asaflashbackaftertherevealinTheEmpireStrikesBack,beforeconcludingwithReturnoftheJediandthesequeltrilogy.Proponentsarguethisstructureenhancescharacterdevelopment,thoughitexcludesEpisodeIentirelyinsomevariations.

    StarWarsSpin-OffMoviesExplained

    Beyondthenumberedepisodicsaga,LucasfilmandDisneyproducedstandaloneanthologyfilmsexpandingspecifichistoricalperiodsorcharacterbackstories.Theseentriesmaintainfullcanonicalstatuswhilerequiringnopriorknowledgeofthemaintrilogies,thoughnarrativeconnectionsenrichtheviewingexperience.

    RogueOne:AStarWarsStory(2016)

    DirectedbyGarethEdwards,thisfilmdepictstheRebelAlliance’stheftofDeathStarplansimmediatelyprecedingANewHope.Setin0BBY,itconcludeswithadirectnarrativebridgeintothe1977original,featuringcharactersandlocationsthatestablishtheoriginaltrilogy’sconflict.

    Solo:AStarWarsStory(2018)

    RonHoward’sheist-westernhybridexploresHanSolo’soriginsduring13–10BBY,detailinghisacquisitionoftheMillenniumFalconandfirstencounterswithChewbacca.Despiteunderperformingcommercially,itremainstheonlylive-actionStarWarsfilmfocusedentirelyonasinglecharacter’searlybiography.

    TheCloneWars(2008)

    Thisanimatedtheatricalrelease,directedbyDaveFiloniandproducedbyLucasfilmAnimation,servesasbothastandalonestoryandthepilotforthesubsequenttelevisionseries.SetbetweenEpisodesIIandIII,itchroniclestheGrandArmyoftheRepublic’scampaignsagainstSeparatistforcesduringtheCloneWars.

    KeyBackgroundonStarWarsMovies

    WhenWastheFirstStarWarsMovieReleased?

    StarWars:EpisodeIV–ANewHopepremieredintheUnitedStateson25May1977,eventuallyadoptingtheepisodenumberingwiththe1981re-releaseofTheEmpireStrikesBack.Thisdatemarksthebeginningofwhatwouldbecomeamulti-billiondollarfranchise,asdocumentedbyRottenTomatoes.

    ProductionTimelineNote GeorgeLucasbegandevelopingStarWarsintheearly1970s,withprincipalphotographyfortheoriginalfilmconcludingin1976.ThegapbetweenReturnoftheJedi(1983)andThePhantomMenace(1999)spannedsixteenyears,thelongesthiatusinthefranchise’scinematichistory.

    WhoDirectedtheStarWarsMovies?

    GeorgeLucasdirectedtheoriginaltrilogy’sfirstinstallmentandallthreeprequelfilms,establishingthefranchise’svisualandnarrativefoundation.IrvinKershnerhelmedTheEmpireStrikesBack(1980)andRichardMarquanddirectedReturnoftheJedi(1983).ThesequeltrilogysplitbetweenJ.J.Abrams(TheForceAwakensandTheRiseofSkywalker)andRianJohnson(TheLastJedi),whileanthologyfilmsbroughtinGarethEdwards,RonHoward,andanimationdirectorDaveFiloni.

    StarWarsMovieReleaseTimeline

  • 1977:StarWars:EpisodeIV–ANewHope–GeorgeLucas
  • 1980:StarWars:EpisodeV–TheEmpireStrikesBack–IrvinKershner
  • 1983:StarWars:EpisodeVI–ReturnoftheJedi–RichardMarquand
  • 1999:StarWars:EpisodeI–ThePhantomMenace–GeorgeLucas
  • 2002:StarWars:EpisodeII–AttackoftheClones–GeorgeLucas
  • 2005:StarWars:EpisodeIII–RevengeoftheSith–GeorgeLucas
  • 2008:StarWars:TheCloneWars–DaveFiloni(animated)
  • 2015:StarWars:EpisodeVII–TheForceAwakens–J.J.Abrams
  • 2016:RogueOne:AStarWarsStory–GarethEdwards
  • 2017:StarWars:EpisodeVIII–TheLastJedi–RianJohnson
  • 2018:Solo:AStarWarsStory–RonHoward
  • 2019:StarWars:EpisodeIX–TheRiseofSkywalker–J.J.Abrams
  • Notheatricalreleasesoccurredduring2024,markingastrategicpivottowardDisney+seriesincludingTheAcolyteandSkeletonCrew.Thenextconfirmedtheatricalrelease,TheMandalorianandGrogu,isscheduledfor22May2026.

    WhatIsCertainAbouttheStarWarsCanon?

    EstablishedInformation RemainingUncertainties Elevenlive-actionfilmsandoneanimatedfeatureconstitutethetheatricalcanon Beyond2027’sStarWars:Starfighter,theatricalreleaseschedulesremainunconfirmed Allreleasedates,directors,andruntimesareverifiedviaLucasfilmarchives ThedevelopmentstatusoftheRey-focusedNewJediOrderprojectlacksofficialdating TheSkywalkerSagaconcludedwithTheRiseofSkywalkerinDecember2019 DawnoftheJediisconfirmedbutwithoutspecifiedreleasetimeframe DisneyacquiredLucasfilmin2012,assumingproductioncontrolfrom2015onward Exactdirectorialattachmentsfor2026–2027projectsremainprovisional

    HowDidtheStarWarsFranchiseEvolve?

    Beginningasasinglespaceoperain1977,thefranchiseexpandedthroughthe1980sintoatrilogythatdefinedblockbustercinema.Theprequeltrilogy(1999–2005)shiftedfocustopoliticaltragedyanddigitaleffects,whileDisney’s2012acquisitionenabledasequeltrilogythatconcludedtheSkywalkernarrative.Thesubsequentpivottostreamingseriesduring2024representsthefirstextendedperiodwithouttheatricalStarWarscontentsincethefranchise’sinception.

    StarWarsMovies–CompleteReleaseandChronologicalOrdertrackstheseevolutionaryphasesthroughcomprehensivechronologicalindexing.

    WhereDoesThisInformationComeFrom?

    ReleasedataanddirectorialcreditsderivefromLucasfilmofficialrecordsviaStarWars.com,withadditionalverificationthroughWikipedia’scomprehensivefilmographyandindustrydatabases.TimelineorderingfollowstheBBY/ABYdatingsystemestablishedinexpandeduniversematerialsnowmaintainedunderDisney’sunifiedcanonpolicy.

    BoxofficefiguresandproductiondetailsreferenceRadioTimesandRottenTomatoes,whileupcomingreleaseinformationdrawsfromverifiedannouncementsregardingTheMandalorianandGrogu(2026)andStarfighter(2027).

    Summary

    TheStarWarsfilmographyencompasseselevenlive-actionfeaturesandoneanimatedmoviereleasedbetween1977and2019,viewableeitherbytheatricalreleaseorder(preservingnarrativesurprises)orgalactictimeline(providinghistoricalcoherence).Withno2024theatricalreleasesandthenextconfirmedfilmscheduledfor2026,thefranchisecurrentlyemphasisesstreamingcontentwhilemaintainingitscinematiclegacy.StarWarsMovies–CompleteReleaseandChronologicalOrderprovidesadditionalreferencematerialsforfranchisenavigation.

    FrequentlyAskedQuestions

    HowmanyStarWarsmoviesarethere? Thereareelevenlive-actionStarWarsfilms—thenineepisodesoftheSkywalkerSagaplustwospin-offs(RogueOneandSolo)—alongsidethe2008animatedCloneWarsfeature.

    WhataretheupcomingStarWarsmovies? TheMandalorianandGroguisscheduledfor22May2026,followedbyStarWars:Starfighteron28May2027.ADawnoftheJedifilmandaRey-focusedNewJediOrderprojectareindevelopmentwithoutconfirmeddates.

    IsSoloaStarWarsmovie? Yes,Solo:AStarWarsStory(2018)isacanonicalanthologyfilmexploringHanSolo’sorigins,thoughitcarriesnoepisodenumber.

    WhatisthelongestStarWarsmovie? StarWars:EpisodeIX–TheRiseofSkywalker(2019)holdsthelongestruntimeat155minutes,followedbyTheLastJediat152minutes.

    WhichStarWarsfilmshouldIwatchfirst? ANewHope(1977)remainstherecommendedstartingpointforfirst-timeviewerstopreservetheoriginaltrilogy’snarrativeimpactandstructuralrevelations.

    AretheStarWarsspin-offsessentialviewing? WhilenotrequiredforunderstandingtheSkywalkerSaga,RogueOneandSoloprovidenarrativeenrichmentandcontextfortheoriginaltrilogy’sevents.

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    Adam Pryor
    Adam PryorStaff Writer

    Adam Pryor is Managing Editor at Castradar.uk, running the daily publishing schedule and guide commissioning.