WATCH ORDER
Star Wars Watch Order: Release vs Chronological (2026)
Star Wars · Updated Sep 14, 2026
Star Wars is the classic "which order" debate. Release order is what we recommend for a first watch — it's how the twists were designed to land (you don't know Vader's secret going in). Below that we list the anthology films and where they slot chronologically if you want the in-universe timeline on a rewatch.
Recommended: release order
1.
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) — TMDB 11
2.
Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) — TMDB 1891
3.
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) — TMDB 1892
4.
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) — TMDB 1893
5.
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) — TMDB 1894
6.
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) — TMDB 1895
7.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) — TMDB 140607
8.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) — TMDB 330459
9.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) — TMDB 181808
10.
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) — TMDB 348350
11.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) — TMDB 181812
In-universe chronological order (for a rewatch)
Episodes I → II → III, then Solo (set ~10 years after Episode III), then Episodes IV → V → VI, then Rogue One (slots in immediately before Episode IV — many fans watch it right before A New Hope rather than in strict release order), then Episodes VII → VIII → IX.
Where to start if you only have a weekend
A New Hope → The Empire Strikes Back → Return of the Jedi. The original trilogy is still the tightest, most complete story in the saga and needs no prior homework.