There are twelve Star Wars movies — eleven live-action films and one animated — and all together they tell a tightly-connected story that follows the fortunes of multiple generations of the Skywalker family.
To make things more complicated, the Transformers movies do not use any sequel numbering in their titles. So for people approaching the series fresh now, it can be difficult to tell which movie comes next. Here's the best way to watch the Transformers movies in order.
How to Watch the Star Wars Movies in Release Order
The best way to watch the Star Wars movie series is in release order. Surprises are preserved. If you've somehow avoided being spoiled on the biggest twists and reveals in the series, it would be a shame to destroy them by watching the movies in the wrong order.
Seen in release order, the Star Wars prequels become an extended flashback that fills in many storytelling gaps created by the original trilogy. Supplemental movies like THE CLONE WARS, ROGUE ONE and SOLO add more details.
Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Episode IV - 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)
The Clone Wars (2008)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Watching the Star Wars movies in release order means you get to see a gradual development of storytelling technology, as the films move from the ambitious but scrappy effects of A NEW HOPE into the digital age of the Prequels and the modern age of the final trilogy.
If you want to modify this viewing order slightly, watch SOLO before THE FORCE AWAKENS, so that the final trilogy stands as a full experience.
How to Watch the Star Wars Movies in Chronological Order
If you'd like to watch the Star Wars series in chronological order, this is the way to go:
Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)
Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)
The Clone Wars (2008)
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 IV - Return of the Jedi (1983)
Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Watching Star Wars in chronological order is really an entertainment for those who have already seen all the movies. Again, we can't recommend it as the way to go on your first viewing! Many reveals and surprises are broken by watching the series in this order.
All images courtesy of Lucasfilm and Walt Disney Pictures.