How to Watch Star Wars Movies In Order – A Streaming Guide

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… These words went on to introduce the biggest sci-fi cinematic franchise of all time. In this guide, we'll show you how to watch every Star Wars movie in chronological and release order.

Largely dealing with the conflict between the righteous Jedi and the morally corrupt Sith forces, the franchise began with George Lucas' Star Wars in 1977. Since then, Star Wars has gone on to incorporate an expansive world of sequels, prequels, and spin-offs. Franchise characters like Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Darth Vader, and Yoda have now become pop culture icons.

How to watch Star Wars movies in chronological order

The key to watching the Star Wars movies in chronological order is to stream them according to their numerical titles, most of which are numbered according to chronological chapters.

• Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

• Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)

• Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

• Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

• Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

• Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

• Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

• Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)

• Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

• Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

The first nine episodes collectively form what is known as "the Skywalker Saga", named after the overarching hero Luke Skywalker. Sandwiched in between Episode III and Episode IV are two prequel movies; Solo: A Star Wars Story and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

How to watch Star Wars movies in release order

The Star Wars movies in release order can be categorised into three trilogies (the Original Trilogy, Prequel Trilogy, Sequel Trilogy) and two prequel spin-offs known as 'Star Wars Stories'.

Original Trilogy:

• Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

• Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

• Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

Prequel Trilogy:

• Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

• Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)

• Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Sequel Trilogy & Spin-offs

• 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)

The original trilogy includes Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. After a long hiatus, the Star Wars franchise returned to the big screen with the Prequel trilogy between 1999 - 2005, including Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Star Wars was then acquired by Disney in 2012, leading to the Sequel Trilogy and spin-offs. The sequel trilogy includes Episode VII: The Force Awakens, Episode VIII: The Last Jedi and Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker. The two Star Wars stories include Solo (telling the origin story of Han Solo) and Rogue One (showing how rebels acquired the Death Star plans before the events of A New Hope).

George Lucas wrote and directed Episode IV: A New Hope, before handing over directorial responsibilities to Irvin Kirshner for Empire Strikes Back and Richard Marquand for Return of the Jedi. Lucas returned to the director's chair for all three prequel movies. JJ Abrams is the only other director to have helmed more than one Star Wars movie, having directed The Force Awakens and The Rise of Skywalker. Other notable directors involved with the franchise include Rian Johnson (Episode VIII: The Last Jedi), Ron Howard (Solo), and Gareth Edwards (Rogue One).

You can also use this guide to find out where to watch every Star Wars movie streaming in India.

May the force be with you!