How to Watch Star Wars In Order
If you want to experience the Star Wars saga strictly through the lens of live-action cinema and television, you can bypass the animated series entirely while keeping a flawless narrative thread. This refined for how to Watch Star Wars In Order path strips away the deep lore of the animated shows and focuses purely on the high-budget cinematic releases and live-action Disney+ series.
Measuring the timeline around the Battle of Yavin (BBY for Before / ABY for After), here is the absolute chronological to Watch Star Wars in order for a live-action-only Star Wars marathon.
Era 1: The Fall of the Jedi
The final days of a golden age, leading to political betrayal and the ultimate destruction of the Jedi Order.
- The Acolyte (Series)The Timeline: ~100 BBY. The chronologically earliest live-action story available. Set at the tail end of the High Republic era, this mystery-thriller exposes the early, hidden tendrils of the dark side infiltrating a complacent Jedi Order.
- Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (Movie)The Timeline: 32 BBY The true beginning of the Skywalker Saga. Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi discover a young boy named Anakin Skywalker, who exhibits an unprecedented connection to the Force.
- Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (Movie)The Timeline: 22 BBY Anakin is now an impulsive young adult training under Obi-Wan. As a forbidden romance blooms with Padmé Amidala, a vast Separatist conspiracy pulls the Republic into the galaxy-spanning Clone Wars.
- Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (Movie)The Timeline: 19 BBY. The dark turning point of the entire saga. Manipulated by Chancellor Palpatine, Anakin falls to the dark side to become Darth Vader. Order 66 is executed, decimating the Jedi, and the Galactic Empire is born.
Era 2: The Reign of the Empire & Spark of Rebellion
The dark ages. The Empire holds a tyrannical grip on the galaxy, but fractured groups begin pushing back, sowing the seeds of the Rebel Alliance.
- Solo: A Star Wars Story (Movie)The Timeline: ~13 BBY – 10 BBYA standalone origin story showing how a young, street-smart Han Solo gets his hands on the Millennium Falcon, meets his future co-pilot Chewbacca, and learns to navigate the criminal underworld.
- Obi-Wan Kenobi (Series)The Timeline: 9 BBY. Set a decade after the Jedi purge, a broken and hiding Obi-Wan is forced out of exile on Tatooine to rescue a young Princess Leia, leading to an emotional and brutal reunion with Darth Vader.
- Andor (Series)The Timeline: 5 BBY – 0 BBYA gritty, mature political spy thriller following Cassian Andor. This series skips the Jedi entirely to focus on the heavy moral compromises and regular citizens required to spark a revolution against fascism.
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Movie)The Timeline: 0 BBYA direct prelude to the original trilogy. This war movie details the desperate, high-stakes mission to steal the structural plans for the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the Death Star. It ends literally minutes before the next film begins.
Era 3: The Age of Rebellion
The classic era. A young farm boy named Luke Skywalker joins forces with a princess and a smuggler to take down the Galactic Empire.
- Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (Movie)The Timeline: 0 BBY / 0 ABY The cinematic masterpiece that started it all. Luke leaves Tatooine, learns the ways of the Force from Ben Kenobi, and fires the shot that destroys the first Death Star at the Battle of Yavin.
- Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (Movie)The Timeline: 3 ABY The Empire hunts the Rebels across the galaxy. Luke travels to the swamp world of Dagobah to train under Master Yoda, culminating in the ultimate cinematic plot twist during a duel with Darth Vader.
- Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (Movie)The Timeline: 4 ABY The climax of the original trilogy. Luke attempts to redeem his father, Darth Vader, while the Rebel Fleet mounts a final, desperate attack against a second Death Star and the Emperor himself.
Era 4: The New Republic (The “Mandoverse”)
Following the Emperor’s defeat, the newly formed government struggles to keep order in a lawless outer rim, where Imperial remnants still plot in the shadows.
- The Mandalorian (Seasons 1–2) (Series)The Timeline: 9 ABY Five years after the fall of the Empire, a lone bounty hunter named Din Djarin is hired to track down a mysterious asset—a child of Yoda’s species—and chooses to go on the run to protect him instead.
- The Book of Boba Fett (Series)The Timeline: ~9 ABYBoba Fett climbs out of the Sarlacc pit to claim Jabba the Hutt’s old criminal empire.
- Crucial Watch Note: You cannot skip this show if you care about the main plot. Episodes 5, 6, and 7 function directly as The Mandalorian Season 2.5, featuring vital character arcs for Din Djarin, Grogu, and Luke Skywalker.
- The Mandalorian (Season 3) (Series)The Timeline: ~9 ABY – 10 ABY Reunited, Din Djarin and Grogu travel to the ruined planet of Mandalore so the bounty hunter can redeem himself in the eyes of his tribe, while a fractured Mandalorian people try to unite.
- Ahsoka (Series)The Timeline: ~11 ABY Anakin Skywalker’s former apprentice travels the outer edges of the galaxy to prevent the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn, a tactical mastermind who threatens to restart a galactic war.
- Star Wars: Skeleton Crew (Series)The Timeline: ~9 ABY – 11 ABYAn Amblin-style coming-of-age story tracking a group of ordinary children who get lost in a dangerous, pirate-infested galaxy during the New Republic era and must rely on a mysterious Force-user to find their way home.
Era 5: The Rise of the First Order
Decades of peace collapse as a fascistic new regime rises from the ashes of the Empire, forcing a new generation of heroes to fight for freedom.
- Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (Movie)The Timeline: 34 ABY Thirty years after the original trilogy, the sinister First Order threatens the galaxy. A young scavenger named Rey discovers her own Force abilities and teams up with Han Solo to find a missing Luke Skywalker.
- Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (Movie)The Timeline: 34 ABY. Picking up right where the previous film ended, the Resistance faces imminent destruction. Rey tracks down a cynical, self-exiled Luke Skywalker on a remote island, seeking his guidance to save the light.
- Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (Movie)The Timeline: 35 ABY. The final chapter of the Skywalker Saga. The long-hidden, ancient evil of Emperor Palpatine returns, forcing Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron into a definitive final battle to decide the fate of the galaxy once and for all.
So there you have it! The ultimate list for how to watch Star Wars In Order!