Star Wars Movies – Release and Chronological Order Guide

19 March 2026, 01:12 · Updated 14 June 2026, 20:39 by Leon Carter · ✓Reviewed by Patrick Nolan, Standards & Fact-Checking Lead

TheStarWarsfranchiseencompasseseleventheatricalfilmsreleasedacrossfivedecades,establishingitselfasoneofcinema’smostenduringproperties.Sincetheoriginalfilmpremieredin1977,thesagahasexpandedtoincludeprequels,sequels,andstandaloneanthologystoriesthatcollectivelygrossedover$10billionworldwide.

Navigatingthecompletecollectionrequiresunderstandingtwodistinctarrangements:chronologicalorderfollowingthein-universetimeline,andreleaseorderreflectinghistoricalcinemadebuts.Thisguideexaminesbothapproaches,alongsideverifiedstreamingavailability,boxofficeperformance,andforthcomingtheatricalreleasesscheduledthrough2027.

WhatIstheBestOrdertoWatchStarWarsMovies?

TotalTheatricalFilms:11

FirstRelease:1977(ANewHope)

LatestFilm:2019(TheRiseofSkywalker)

NextRelease:May2026(TheMandalorian&Grogu)

BoxOfficeLeader:TheForceAwakensremainsthehighest-grossingentry,earning$2.07billionglobally

CriticalPeak:TheEmpireStrikesBackholdsa94%criticalratingonRottenTomatoes,thehighestintheseries

DisneyEra:Lucasfilm’sacquisitionbyDisneyin2012producedfivetheatricalreleasesbetween2015and2019

CanonCount:Elevenfilmsconstitutethecurrentofficialcanon,includingthe2008animatedCloneWarstheatricalrelease

FoundationalDirectors:TheoriginaltrilogyfeatureddirectionbyGeorgeLucas,IrvinKershner,andRichardMarquand

LowestScores:TheRiseofSkywalkerandThePhantomMenacesharethelowestcriticalratingsat52%each

Episode Title Year WorldwideGross I ThePhantomMenace 1999 $1.03billion II AttackoftheClones 2002 $649million III RevengeoftheSith 2005 $868million IV ANewHope 1977 $775million V TheEmpireStrikesBack 1980 $538million VI ReturnoftheJedi 1983 $475million VII TheForceAwakens 2015 $2.07billion VIII TheLastJedi 2017 $1.33billion IX TheRiseofSkywalker 2019 $1.07billion N/A RogueOne 2016 $1.06billion N/A Solo 2018 $393million N/A TheCloneWars(animated) 2008 Notavailable

Chronologicalorderfollowstheinternalnarrativetimeline,beginningwithEpisodeI:ThePhantomMenace(1999)andprogressingthroughtheprequel,original,andsequeltrilogies.ThissequencerevealsthefalloftheRepublic,theriseoftheEmpire,andthesubsequentresistancemovementsinlinearfashion.StarWars.comandSpace.comprovideofficialtimelineguidancethatplacesanthologyfilmsRogueOneandSolobetweentheprequelsandoriginaltrilogy.

Releaseorderpreservesthecinematicexperienceasaudiencesoriginallyencounteredit,startingwithANewHope(1977).Thisapproachmaintainsthenarrativesurprisesoftheoriginaltrilogy,particularlycharacterrevelationsinTheEmpireStrikesBack.Viewingchronologicallyrequiresbeginningwiththeprequeltrilogy,whichrevealsplotelementsthatserveastwistsintheoriginalfilms.BoxOfficeMojotracksthehistoricalperformanceofeachtheatricalrelease.

HowManyStarWarsMoviesAreThere?

EleventheatricalfilmscomprisethecurrentStarWarscanon.NineconstitutetheSkywalkerSaga,dividedintothreetrilogiesexploringthefallandredemptionoftheAnakinSkywalkerlineage.Twoadditionalanthologyfilmsexamineperipheraleventswithinthegalacticconflict,whilethe2008animatedStarWars:TheCloneWarsfilmreceivedtheatricaldistributiondespiteitstelevisionseriescontinuation.

CanonDistinction

Onlytheatricallyreleasedfilmsareincludedinofficialboxofficetabulations.Televisionseries,includingthosewithcinematicproductionvaluessuchasTheMandalorian,areexcludedfromtheatricalcountsdespitetheirnarrativesignificance.

TheSkywalkerSaga

Nineepisodesformthecorenarrativearc.Theprequeltrilogy(EpisodesI-III)documentstheRepublic’scollapseandAnakinSkywalker’stransformationintoDarthVader.Theoriginaltrilogy(EpisodesIV-VI)followsLukeSkywalker’semergenceasaJediandtheEmpire’sdefeat.Thesequeltrilogy(EpisodesVII-IX)introducesnewprotagonistsRey,Finn,andPoeDameronconfrontingtheFirstOrder.

AnthologyandAnimatedReleases

RogueOne:AStarWarsStory(2016)depictstheDeathStarplans’theftimmediatelyprecedingANewHope,whileSolo(2018)exploresHanSolo’searlycriminalcareer.The2008CloneWarsanimatedfilmservesasthetheatricalpilotforthesubsequentseven-seasontelevisionseries.

WhatIstheStarWarsOriginalTrilogy?

Theoriginaltrilogycomprisesthethreefoundationallive-actionfilmsreleasedbetween1977and1983.EpisodeIV:ANewHope(1977)introducedLukeSkywalker,PrincessLeia,HanSolo,Obi-WanKenobi,andDarthVadertoglobalaudiences.EpisodeV:TheEmpireStrikesBack(1980),directedbyIrvinKershner,expandedthemythologythroughYoda’sJeditrainingandtherevelationofVader’spaternity.EpisodeVI:ReturnoftheJedi(1983),directedbyRichardMarquand,concludedthearcwithVader’sredemptionandtheEmperor’sinitialdefeat.

WhichStarWarsFilmsAreComingNext?

TheMandalorian&Groguisscheduledfortheatricalreleaseon22May2026,bridgingthenarrativebetweentheDisney+seriesandcinema.DirectedbyJonFavreau,thisproductionrepresentsthefirstStarWarstheatricalreleasesince2019.StarWars:Starfighterfollowson28May2027.AdditionalprojectsindevelopmentincludeaReyfilmdirectedbySharmeenObaid-Chinoy,thoughspecificreleasedatesremainunconfirmed.Wikipediamaintainsupdatedproductionstatusfortheseprojects.

WhereCanYouStreamStarWarsMovies?

AllcanonStarWarsfilmsstreamexclusivelyonDisney+intheUnitedKingdomandEuropeanUnion.Subscriptiontiersrangefrom£7.99to£10.99monthly.AlternativeacquisitionmethodsincludepurchaseorrentalthroughPrimeVideo,AppleTV,andSkyStore.Physicalmediaremainsavailablevia4KUltraHDBlu-raycollections,includingthe”CompleteSaga”boxset.ContentmigratedfromNetflixtoDisney+followingthe2020acquisition.

RegionalAvailability

Disney+holdsexclusivestreamingrightsforallcanonStarWarscontentintheUK.Physical4KUltraHDcollectionsremainavailablethroughretailersforofflineownership.

CriticalrankingsviaRottenTomatoesplaceTheEmpireStrikesBack(94%)andANewHope(93%)attheapexofthefranchise.ReturnoftheJedi(83%)andRogueOne(84%)followclosely.Thesequeltrilogy’sTheRiseofSkywalker(52%)andtheprequel’sThePhantomMenace(52%)sharethelowestaggregatedcriticalscores.

ViewingOrderRecommendation

Forfirst-timeviewers,releaseorderpreservesnarrativesurprises,particularlyregardingcharacterrelationshipsrevealedinTheEmpireStrikesBack.

WhenWeretheStarWarsFilmsReleased?

1977:EpisodeIV:ANewHopelaunchesthefranchise

1980:EpisodeV:TheEmpireStrikesBackdeepensthemythology

1983:EpisodeVI:ReturnoftheJedicompletestheoriginaltrilogy

1999:EpisodeI:ThePhantomMenacebeginstheprequeltrilogy

2002:EpisodeII:AttackoftheClonesadvancestheclonewarsnarrative

2005:EpisodeIII:RevengeoftheSithconcludestheprequelera

2015:EpisodeVII:TheForceAwakenslaunchesthesequeltrilogy

2017:EpisodeVIII:TheLastJedicontinuestheresistancestoryline

2019:EpisodeIX:TheRiseofSkywalkercompletestheSkywalkerSaga

2026:TheMandalorian&Groguscheduledtheatricaldebut

WhatIsOfficiallyConfirmedAboutFutureReleases?

EstablishedInformation InformationThatRemainsUnclear TheMandalorian&Grogureleases22May2026 StatusoftheLandofilmprojectpost-2025 StarWars:Starfighterscheduledfor28May2027 Exactcanonicityofthe2003CloneWarsmicro-series ReyfilmdirectedbySharmeenObaid-Chinoyindevelopment Potentialtheatricalreleasesbeyond2027 AllfilmsavailableonDisney+ WhetherfutureanthologyfilmswillcontinueafterSolo’sboxofficeperformance Totaltheatricalfilms:11 Precisebudgetfiguresforupcomingproductions

HowHastheStarWarsFranchiseInfluencedCinema?

GeorgeLucas’s1977spaceoperafundamentallyalteredHollywood’sapproachtoblockbusterfilmmakingthroughitsmerchandisingintegration,serial-inspirednarrativestructure,andtechnologicaladvancementofspecialeffects.Thefranchisepioneeredmodernfranchisearchitecture,demonstratingthecommercialviabilityofinterconnectedmulti-filmstorytellingacrossdecades.StarWarsMovies–CompleteListandWatchOrdersprovidesadditionalbackgroundontheseries’development.

Disney’s2012acquisitionshiftedproductiontowardannualtheatricalreleasesbetween2015and2019,followedbyastrategicpivottostreamingcontentonDisney+.Thistransitionreflectsbroaderindustrychangeswhilemaintainingthetheatricalformatformajorsagainstallments.Thefranchise’sculturalfootprintextendsbeyondcinemaintotelevision,publishing,andthemeparkattractions,establishingatemplatefortransmediastorytelling.

WhereDoesThisInformationComeFrom?

Dataregardingreleasedates,boxofficeperformance,andstreamingavailabilityderivesfromofficialLucasfilmcommunicationsviaStarWars.com,cross-referencedwithaggregationsitesincludingSpace.comandfan-curatedreferencematerials.FinancialfiguresaresourcedfromBoxOfficeMojoandverifiedthroughindustrytrackingservices.CriticalratingsarecompiledfromRottenTomatoesaggregationmethodologies.

WhatAretheEssentialFactsAboutStarWarsMovies?

TheStarWarsfilmseriescompriseseleventheatricalreleasesspanningtheSkywalkerSagaandstandaloneanthologystories.Viewersmaychoosebetweenchronologicalorder,beginningwiththeprequeltrilogy,orreleaseorder,startingwiththe1977original.AlltitlescurrentlystreamonDisney+,withthenexttheatricalrelease,TheMandalorian&Grogu,scheduledforMay2026.StarWarsMovies–ReleaseandChronologicalOrderGuideoffersdetailedviewingpathwaysforspecificnarrativepreferences.

FrequentlyAskedQuestions

WherecanIwatchStarWarsmoviesintheUK?

AllStarWarsfilmsstreamexclusivelyonDisney+intheUK.Subscriptionscostbetween£7.99and£10.99monthly.Physical4KBlu-raysanddigitalpurchasesareavailableviaAmazon,AppleTV,andSkyStore.

WhichStarWarsfilmearnedthemostmoney?

StarWars:TheForceAwakens(2015)holdstherecordwith$2.07billionworldwide,makingitthehighest-grossingfilminthefranchise.

Whatisthecorrectorderforfirst-timeviewers?

Releaseorder(IV,V,VI,I,II,III,VII,VIII,IX)preservesoriginalnarrativesurprises.Chronologicalorder(I-IX)followsthein-universetimelinebutrevealsmajorplottwistsearly.

ArethereanyStarWarsfilmsreleasingin2025?

Notheatricalfilmsarescheduledfor2025.ThenextconfirmedtheatricalreleaseisTheMandalorian&Groguon22May2026.

WhichStarWarsmoviehasthelowestcriticrating?

TheRiseofSkywalker(2019)andThePhantomMenace(1999)sharethelowestRottenTomatoesscoresat52%each.

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