The two main ways to watch the Star Wars movies are:
- Chronological order (by story timeline):
- Episode I: The Phantom Menace
- Episode II: Attack of the Clones
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (movie and series)
- Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
- Solo: A Star Wars Story
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- Episode IV: A New Hope
- Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
- Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
- Episode VII: The Force Awakens
- Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
- Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker
This order follows the story events in the Star Wars galaxy from beginning to end.
- Release order (by when movies were originally released):
- Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
- Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
- Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
- Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
- Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
- Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
- Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
- Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
- Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
- Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Watching in release order preserves the original experience, including twists and surprises. For newcomers, watching in release order is often recommended to avoid spoilers and confusion. But watching chronologically gives a full narrative flow of the saga. There are also many Star Wars TV series that fit between the movies, but these two main orders apply to the core movies themselves. So you can pick based on whether you want story chronological order or original release experience. Let me know if you'd like the specific list including TV shows or spin-offs too.
