List of Star Wars films

The Star Wars franchise involves multiple live-action and animated films, occurring within its all-encompassing fictional universe. The series was initially created as a trilogy set in medias res (partway through the plot) that was later expanded into a trilogy of trilogies, known as the "Skywalker Saga".

The original 1977 film Star Wars (later subtitled A New Hope) was followed by the sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983); these films form the original trilogy. Beginning twenty-two years later, the prequel trilogy was released, consisting of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005). Then, after creator George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012, a sequel trilogy consisting of Episodes VII through IX was released, namely Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019).

The first three spin-off films produced were the made-for-television Star Wars Holiday Special (1978), The Ewok Adventure (1984) and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985). Following Disney's 2012 acquisition of the franchise, these earlier films were dropped from the official canon, but the theatrical animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) and its television series continuation retain their canonical status. Two standalone films were produced and released between the sequel trilogy films: Rogue One (2016) and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), both set between the original and prequel trilogies. A years long hiatus began in late 2019, during which numerous films were announced and often shelved. The Mandalorian and Grogu, a continuation of the similarly titled television series, is being directed by Jon Favreau and is planned for release in May 2026.

The combined box office revenue of the films amounts to over US$10 billion, and it is currently the third-highest-grossing film franchise. The major live-action releases (including all of the films of the Skywalker Saga) were nominated for Academy Awards. The original film was nominated for most of the major categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor for Alec Guinness (who played Obi-Wan Kenobi), while all theatrical live-action films have been nominated for particular categories. Several official Star Wars television series have also been released, all now on Disney+.

Skywalker Saga

The main Star Wars film series is a trilogy of subtrilogies; as it neared completion, Lucasfilm began to refer to it as the "Skywalker Saga". It was released beginning with the original trilogy (Episodes IV, V, and VI, 1977–1983), followed by the prequel trilogy (Episodes I, II, and III, 1999–2005) and the sequel trilogy (Episodes VII, VIII, and IX, 2015–2019). The first film released, Star Wars (1977), is the fourth film chronologically and was later subtitled Episode IV – A New Hope in 1981. The saga begins chronologically with Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) and concludes with Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019).

The story follows each generation of the Force-sensitive Skywalker family and their struggle against Palpatine, an evil Sith Lord known as Darth Sidious. The prequel trilogy focuses on Anakin Skywalker's time as a Jedi under Obi-Wan Kenobi, marriage to Padmé Amidala, and fall to the dark side as Darth Vader. The original trilogy follows Anakin and Padmé's children Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, who join forces with Han Solo and the Rebel Alliance against Vader and Palpatine's Empire. The sequel trilogy features Kylo Ren (Ben Solo)—Leia and Han's son—who fell to the dark side and seeks to rule First Order with Rey, Palpatine's granddaughter and the Skywalkers' last Jedi apprentice.

Each episodic film begins with an opening crawl, accompanied by the main Star Wars theme by John Williams, who composed each film's score. Following their initial theatrical releases, franchise creator George Lucas made multiple rounds of retroactive changes to the films of the original trilogy (and to a lesser extent, the prequels).

Standalone films

As Lucas was outlining a trilogy of trilogies, he also imagined making additional movies unrelated to the Skywalker Saga. The first films set outside the main episodic series were the Ewok spin-off films Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (1984) and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985), the first of which was screened internationally after being produced for television.

After the conclusion of his then-six-episode saga in 2005, Lucas returned to spin-offs in the form of television series. An animated film, The Clone Wars (2008), was released as a pilot to a TV series of the same name. An anthology series set between the main episodes entered development in parallel to the production of the sequel trilogy, described by Disney chief financial officer (CFO) Jay Rasulo as origin stories. The first entry, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), tells the story of the rebels who steal the Death Star plans directly before Episode IV. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) focuses on Han's backstory, also featuring Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian.

Animated film

The Clone Wars (2008)

Preceding the airing of the animated TV series in late 2008, the theatrical feature Star Wars: The Clone Wars was compiled from episodes "almost [as] an afterthought." It reveals that Anakin trained an apprentice named Ahsoka Tano between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith; the series explains her absence from the latter film. The film and series exist in the same level of canon as the episodic and anthology films.

Live-action films

Before selling Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012, and parallel to his development of a sequel trilogy, George Lucas and original trilogy co-screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan started development on a standalone film about a young Han Solo. In February 2013, Disney CEO Bob Iger made public the development of a Kasdan film and Entertainment Weekly reported that it would focus on Han Solo. Disney CFO Jay Rasulo has described the standalone films as origin stories. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy confirmed that there was "no attempt being made to carry characters (from the standalone films) in and out of the saga episodes." The standalone films are subtitled "A Star Wars Story".

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Rogue One is set directly before Episode IV: A New Hope and focuses on the eponymous group of rebels who obtain the plans to the Death Star. Its laser was developed by scientist Galen Erso (played by Mads Mikkelsen) after the Empire forcibly abducted him, separating him from his daughter Jyn. Galen secretly sends a defecting Imperial pilot, Bodhi Rook, to deliver a message warning of the weapon's existence and revealing its weakness to his rebel friend Saw Gerrera. Under the false promise of her father's liberation, Jyn agrees to help Rebel Alliance intelligence officer Cassian Andor and his droid K-2SO retrieve the message from Saw, now the paranoid leader of an extremist cell of rebels.

The idea for the movie came from John Knoll, the chief creative officer of Industrial Light & Magic. In May 2014, Lucasfilm announced Gareth Edwards as the director of an anthology film, with Gary Whitta writing the first draft for a release on December 16, 2016. The film's title was revealed to be Rogue One, with Chris Weitz rewriting the script, and Felicity Jones in the starring role. Ben Mendelsohn and Diego Luna also play new characters, with James Earl Jones returning to voice Darth Vader. Edwards stated, "It comes down to a group of individuals who don't have magical powers that have to somehow bring hope to the galaxy." The film was the first to feature characters introduced in animated Star Wars TV series, namely The Clone Wars' Saw Gerrera, portrayed by Forest Whitaker in the film. The movie received generally positive reviews, with its performances, action sequences, soundtrack, visual effects and darker tone being praised. The film grossed over US$500 million worldwide within a week of its release.