Timeline of the Star Wars movies and series
Published on 12 November 2020
If you like Star Wars without being an absolute fan, it's possible you sometimes get a bit lost in the timeline of the movies and series. I'm going to try here to give you some tips to get into it in the right order; it'll also serve as a reminder for those who are a bit lost as they watch.
Before we start, let's note all the same that there's the chronological order in the "temporal" sense of the term, but also the order in which it's recommended to watch the films, in a sense that isn't necessarily "chronological".
Simple example: the films of the main saga, namely the "Skywalker" saga… the chronological order of the story is obviously Episode 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. Except that clearly, it's much more logical and interesting to watch them in the order of their theatrical releases, namely: 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3, 7, 8 and 9. Why? Quite simply because the references and nods intended by the directors work better in that order.
For the spin-offs (the very bad Solo or the excellent Rogue One), you can consider that watching them, here too, in the order of the films' "release" is the smartest, so as to get all the anachronic references intended by the directors.
ON THE OTHER HAND, very important, if you haven't started watching the wonderful Mandalorian series, we very warmly recommend that you watch BEFORE it the film and the animated series Clone Wars, which, in addition to being excellent, introduces quite a few interesting things for properly understanding Mandalorian.
ALRIGHT, HERE'S AN ultra-simplified RECAP: if you're a beginner, then watch everything in this order:
- Star Wars episode IV
- Star Wars episode V
- Star Wars episode VI
- Star Wars episode I
- Star Wars episode II
- The film + the Clone Wars series + Rebels
- Star Wars episode III
- Star Wars episode VII
- Rogue One
- Star Wars episode VIII
- Solo
- Star Wars episode IX
- Mandalorian
You can skip watching the animated series "Resistance", or else watch it at the end if you really have time to waste or if you're 13 years old.
There you go, that's for the viewing order. For those who are in the thick of the films or series, and need a little reminder to know "damn, what point of the story are we at right now?", here's the official temporal timeline:
Photo credit: DR
By Paingout