A Beginner’s Guide to the Star Wars Cinematic Universe
I’ve got a bad feeling about this…
So you’re stuck at home for the few weeks. You’re probably bored, scrolling through your phone, looking for a new series to dive into. You may have digital learning, or perhaps work from home, but even that doesn't take up enough of your day. You’ve got time, and I’ve got a time consuming series.
Star Wars has a total of 11 movies and 4 television shows. There’s also a bunch of mini series, but those aren’t added here. You yourself may not be the biggest Star Wars fan, but even those with no knowledge of the universe can enjoy these movies.
Below is an official timeline. This puts all 11 movies and shows into a somewhat chronological order (this will become important later).
You can ignore the untitled projects, as they’ve yet to be released. Galaxy’s Edge is also an amusement park ride, so that may be more difficult to obtain.
So where should one begin? This all depends on interest level: how much time do you want to commit? How much energy? The best way to break this down is into tiers. Each tier will have the movies in the order they should be watched, as well as how committed you should be.
TIER 1: I’M BORED AND NEED A SERIES
Movies to watch (in this order):
- A New Hope
- The Empire Strikes Back
- Return of the Jedi
You really don’t have to be a huge fan to watch the original movies. They’re old, but they still hold up as some of the best in the franchise. A non-fan could watch this trilogy, enjoy the storyline, and never watch anything else Star Wars related. It’s a total of 388 minutes of movie to watch (which is a little over 6 hours). They’re all on Disney+ too!
TIER 2: OKAY, I’M GETTING INTO IT
Movies to watch:
- All of Tier 1
- The Phantom Menace
- Attack of the Clones
- Revenge of the Sith
If you want more than the originals, you’ll need to watch the prequels first. The prequels build to the storyline of what happens in the original trilogy. This list is for those who want to dive more into the bigger story line of this franchise. It’s roughly 793 minutes (13ish hours). Again, all on Disney+. For those who need directions on this: Phantom Menace -> Attack of the Clones -> Revenge of the Sith -> Tier 1
TIER 3: I WANT THE WHOLE SAGA
Movies to watch:
- Prequels (see Tier 2)
- Original trilogy (see Tier 1)
- The Force Awakens
- The Last Jedi
- The Rise of Skywalker
This is for those who want the whole 9 movie saga. The sequels continued the storyline after Return of the Jedi and introduced us to a bunch of new heroes and villains. While it follows a lot of the original movies blueprint and ends in a way that left this writer somewhat upset, it introduces new content while honoring the legends of the past. This would put you at 1,227 minutes of movie (21 hours roughly). While The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi are on Disney+, The Rise of Skywalker is only on Blu-ray and won’t likely be on Disney+for a while.
TIER 4: ANYMORE MOVIES?
Movies to watch:
- Prequels
- Solo: A Star Wars Story
- Rogue One
- Original Trilogy
- Sequels (see Tier 3)
So there are two additional movies that can be watched. While they don’t connect directly to a trilogy, they do help drive the bigger storyline and explain how certain events happened. It takes your total time to 1,487 minutes (over 24 hours). You’ll watch the prequels, then watch Solo. Solo talks more about the character Han Solo. Then watch Rogue One. One of my all time favorites, this movie explains how the Rebels get secret Imperial plans. Both are on Disney+! (common theme here).
TIER 5: I WANT IT ALL!
What to watch:
- The Phantom Menace
- Attack of the Clones
- The Clone Wars (movie)
- The Clones Wars animated series (7 total seasons)
- Revenge of the Sith
- Solo: A Star Wars Story
- Rogue One
- Star Wars Rebels animated series (4 total seasons)
- A New Hope
- The Empire Strikes Back
- Return of the Jedi
- The Mandalorian series
- The Force Awakens
- Star Wars Resistance animated series (2 total seasons)
- The Last Jedi
- The Rise of Skywalker
If you’ve made it this far, you’re 100% bought in. This is the perfect chronological order of everything Star Wars. You could skip a series or two, but if you want it all, here it is. The Mandalorian has only one current season, but another on the way. It tells the story of the universe between the events of The Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. I adore the show.
The Clones Wars animated series is spectacular too. It gets into the galaxy-wide war that occurs after Attack of the Clones. Star Wars: Rebels gives us a new perspective of a Rebel group led by rogue Jedi. Another phenominial addition. I’ve never seen Resistance, but the series dives into some resistance pilots during the reign of the First Order. May have to watch that!
I don’t wanna go into the total run time. It’ll be over 24 hours though, I guarantee it!
I may have missed things. You can add in holiday specials, or special releases of movies. This is intended for those stuck at home the next few weeks who need a guide into the realm of Star Wars. Good luck with whatever you end up watching, and may the Force be with you!
My podcast where I ranked the movies and broke down The Mandalorian season 1
