We made a list of 4 ways to watch the Star Wars movies and shows, from order of release and chronological to the David Corenswet order and more!
If you’re approaching the Star Wars movies for the first time, the first thing to decide is in what order you should approach the franchise. After all, so many films and shows have been released ever since the original trilogy came out, back in 1977, and most of these releases take places on different timelines. There are a number of ways to watch the Star Wars movies, from the traditional approach to more inventive ones, and which one to choose depends on how much you already know about the trilogy, who you’re watching them with, and a variety of factors.
In this article, we’re suggesting 4 different ways to watch the Star Wars movies and shows and explaining why you might want to choose one over the others. By the time you finish reading, you’ll definitely find out more about the Star Wars timeline, and this will help you decide how to approach a saga that’s bound to become your new favorite sci-fi universe! May the Force be with you!
1. Release Order
The obvious choice would be to watch the Star Wars movies and shows in order of release, just like the fans of the original trilogy got to experience them. Many longtime Star Wars fans will stand behind this choice, which is recommended if you don’t know anything about the saga. It will help you avoid spoilers, and there are some pretty huge twists that you’ll enjoy discovering with the movies and shows as you watch them. If you’re already familiar with these twists and tend to get confused when you watch films with multiple timelines, then you might opt for the chronological order instead, but we still think starting with A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi would still help with the world building.
Here’s the list of titles in chronological order. We’ve indicated if they’re movies or shows, and we added the release dates to all entries. Some series have multiple seasons, so you can choose to either watch them chronologically or finish each show after you’ve started it: it won’t have a huge impact on your overall experience, so we’d recommend choosing based on how much you’re enjoying each series.
- Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, film (1977)
- Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, film (1980)
- Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, film (1983)
- Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, film (1999)
- Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, film (2002)
- Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, film (2005)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars, film (2008)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars, series (2008-2020)
- Star Wars Rebels, series (2014-2018)
- Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, film (2015)
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, film (2016)
- Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, film (2017)
- Solo: A Star Wars Story, film (2018)
- Star Wars Resistance, series (2018-2020)
- The Mandalorian, series (2019-2020)
- Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker, film (2019)
- The Book of Boba Fett (2021-2022)
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021-2024)
- Obi-Wan Kenobi, series (2022)
- Andor, series (2022-2025)
- Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, series(2022)
- Ahsoka, series (2023, -)
- Star Wars: Tales of the Empire, series (2024)
- The Acolyte, series (2024)
- Skeleton Crew, series (2024-2025)
- Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld, series (2025)
2. Chronological Order
If you’re someone who tends to get bored with slow-paced movies and you’re already familiar with most of the twists, then you might want to watch the Star Wars movies and shows in chronological order. This would mean starting with some recent releases and easing into the original trilogy halfway through your marathon, when you’ve already gotten acquainted with some of the characters in earlier timelines. This also means watching some very long shows that weren’t entirely well-received before getting to the very good movies, though, so if you’re starting to get bored of the series, you should skip them and revisit them later!
Since some of these series are very long, they span across multiple timelines: some examples are Tales of the Jedi, Tales of the Empire, Tales of the Underworld, and Resistance – the latter begins before The Force Awakens, and ends after it. Andor and Star Wars Rebels also take place at the same time, so as long as you watch them both before Rogue One, the order doesn’t matter as much.
- The Acolyte, series (2024)
- Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, film (1999)
- Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, film (2002)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars, film (2008)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars, series (2008-2020)
- Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, series(2022)
- Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, film (2005)
- Star Wars: Tales of the Empire, series (2024)
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021-2024)
- Solo: A Star Wars Story, film (2018)
- Obi-Wan Kenobi, series (2022)
- Star Wars Rebels, series (2014-2018)
- Andor, series (2022-2025)
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, film (2016)
- Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, film (1977)
- Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, film (1980)
- Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, film (1983)
- The Mandalorian, series (2019-2020)
- The Book of Boba Fett (2021-2022)
- Ahsoka, series (2023, -)
- Skeleton Crew, series (2024-2025)
- Star Wars Resistance, series (2018-2020)
- Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, film (2015)
- Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, film (2017)
- Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker, film (2019)
3. The Machete Order
… This is where things get interesting! A blogger named Rod Hilton invented this way of watching the movies back in 2011, when most of the shows on this list hadn’t been released yet. The Machete Order takes this name because it was initially shared on his blog “Absolutely No Machete Juggling”, but you can still find the original post on his current blog. Rod argues that even if you watch the films chronologically, a spoiler is in order, as the new cut of Episode VI includes a shot with a Force Ghost – a dead Jedi who appears to a live one as an apparition – that also ruins the biggest twist in the whole saga. The solution he proposes is to skip Episode 1 altogether and watch Episode VI at the end, as follows:
- Solo: A Star Wars Story, film (2018)
- Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, film (1977)
- Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, film (1980)
- Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, film (2002)
- Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, film (2005)
- Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, film (1983)
The Machete Order focuses only on the Skywalker timeline, so we’ve also added Solo, as it takes place before A New Hope. It’s up to you to decide how to fit the other films around it, but a chronological order would be more logical. That is, if you don’t want to consider the next entry on this list instead!
4. The ‘David Corenswet’ Order
Oh yes, there is a David Corenswet order! The star of the newly released Superman (2025) is a Star Wars superfan, and during an appearance on “Brittany Broski’s Royal Court,” he shared his preferred order in which to watch the movies. If you’re familiar with the long-standing debate on how to watch these films, you’ll know his approach is actually a modified version of the Machete: the Modified Machete Order, which a lot of people have been vouching for for a long time. Still, it’s nice to see celebrities get involved in the debate, and given how popular this last order is, he definitely has a point!
Back when Rod Hilton introduced the Machete Order, most people disliked Episodes I-II-III, so it would have made sense to skip one of them, following this logic. Nowadays, the prequels have been getting more love, so many viewers prefer the Modified Machete Order instead, where you don’t skip Episode I. That’s exactly what David Corenswet suggests, and we definitely think you should give it a try as a better alternative to the first two entries on this list. Find it below, with the addition of Solo, just like in the previous list.
- Solo: A Star Wars Story, film (2018)
- Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, film (1977)
- Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, film (1980)
- Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, film (1999)
- Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, film (2002)
- Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, film (2005)
- Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, film (1983)
Just like with the Machete Order, how you want to watch the other film is entirely your choice, but we would suggest the chronological order.
If you’ve chosen one of these methods, chances are you’ve just finished watching all the Star Wars movies and shows! If you need more Star Wars in your life, do not despair: Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian & Grogu is coming in May next year! To soften the wait till then, why not rewatch all the films and series in a different order?
