Disney+’s next Star Wars TV series is Obi-Wan Kenobi. To understand what it’s about, you need to watch or revisit the full Star Wars Universe.
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(Pocket-lint) — Disney+’s next Star Wars TV series is Obi-Wan Kenobi. To understand what it’s about, you need to watch or revisit the full Star Wars Universe. The entire franchise is loaded with callbacks to all the various installments. For instance, the Mandalorian makes his way to the Mos Eisley Cantina, from the very first Star Wars film. In fact, the events of The Mandalorian and Disney+’s other Star Wars series, The Book of Boba Fett, take place five years after Return of the Jedi, or near the middle of the known Star Wars timeline, which consists of 11 feature films. Obi-Wan Kenobi will be set squarely between the films Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. So, if you really want to know what’s going on, it’s time for a re-watch. Daunting, right? No worries. Just follow our watch guide below. A spoiler-free version of our guide is at the bottom of this page, along with some other spoiler-free orders worth considering — such as chronological, theatrical, and even Machete and Rinster. The «Machete Order», for instance, takes a machete to The Phantom Menace by cutting it out of your rewatch For the most conclusive viewing order, which includes all the animated Star Wars series to date, check out the Complete Star Wars Saga order also at the bottom,
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Star Wars movies and shows: Best viewing orders
Best Star Wars order (spoilers) Best Star Wars order (spoiler-free)
Chronological movie order (spoiler-free) Theatrical movie order (spoiler-free)
Machete and Rinster orders (spoiler-free) Complete Star Wars saga order (spoiler-free) The best Star Wars viewing order
There are many ways you can revisit the Star Wars saga. You can watch the movies and shows by release date order or in chronological order, for instance. While the chronological order might be the obvious choice, some argue it’s not as enjoyable because you start with The Phantom Menace, our least-favourite film. Watching chronologically also spoils the biggest twist in the series by prematurely revealing the identity of Luke’s father. Watching the release date order also has unsatisfying points. Sure, the “I am your father” surprise stays intact, but the storyline is jumbled. You hop between Episodes IV-VI (the original trilogy released between 1977 and 1983), then Episodes I-III (the prequel trilogy released between 1999 and 2005), and Episodes VII-IX (the sequel trilogy released between 2015 and 2019). And then there’s the Anthology films: Rogue One (2016) and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). They take place between the originals and prequels but released during the most recent «sequel» trilogy. Plus, there’s the new Disney+ series. You can see how all this quickly becomes a mess. This is why we’ve created the perfect order that solves these problems. We included all 11 feature films as well as The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series. THERE ARE SPOILERS BELOW. DisneyA New Hope (1977 movie)
While technically the sixth movie, chronologically, in the Star Wars franchise, A New Hope is worth visiting first in your re-watch purely because it’s the start of everything. It’s also the only Star Wars film that treats viewers as if they’ve never watched the saga before. So, you’ll start with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) meeting Obi-Wan (Alec Guiness). He gets a lightsaber from Obi-Wan and ultimately learns about the Force and Darth Vader (James Earl Jones) from him before heading off to save Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and destroy the Death Star.
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DisneyRogue One (2016 movie)
The first of the new «Anthology» films, Rogue One is filled with A New Hope backstory. It follows the daughter of the Death Star’s creator, Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), as she is freed by the Rebel Alliance and tasked with finding the plans that lead to the ultimate weapon’s destruction. Yes, it ends where A New Hope begins, but because it’s so reliant on you knowing A New Hope already, we think it’s best to watch them in reverse. You’ll learn who created the Death Star, why it’s so easily destroyed, and you’ll meet the many Bothans who died to steal the Death Star plans. DisneyThe Empire Strikes Back (1980 movie)
Empire Strikes Back is widely regarded as one of the greatest sequels of all time. After the initial battle on the frozen planet Hoth, Luke heads to begin his Jedi training with Yoda, while Han Solo and Princess Leia head to Cloud City to meet with Han’s old friend Lando Calrissian. But Han and Leia are betrayed and then used as bait by Vader to lure Luke. It all culminates in a showdown between Vader and Luke and ends with a twist. DisneyThe Phantom Menace (1999 movie)
And, just like that, we go from one of the most loved installments of all time to the most loathed. This film follows Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) as they attempt to protect the Queen of Naboo and stumble upon a young slave boy named Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd). You’re also forced to sit through two hours of Jar-Jar Binks and sleep-inducing Galactic Senate negotiations. So, if you’ve seen this film before, just skip it on your next rewatch. Although it does provide some details important to another prequel film, and it has a great lightsaber duel.
