How to Watch and Play EVERY Piece of Canon Star Wars Media During Quarantine
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The Saga Begins (and Concludes): How to Watch and Play EVERY Piece of Canon Star Wars Media During Quarantine graphic by Athena Boutross What better way is there to practice social distancing than by escaping to a galaxy far, far away? With the final season of The Clone Wars airing on Disney Plus, there has never been a better time to catch up on (or rewatch!) everything the Star Wars franchise offers. In this guide, I’ll go over the best way to experience the Skywalker saga in chronological order from start to finish. Note: I’m not including any of the novels and comic books, nor am I including the Forces of Destiny shorts, in this guide. Prequel Trilogy: These movies mainly focus on the period before the rise of the evil Galactic Empire and were originally introduced by the “Star Wars Prequels,” which were released throughout the early 2000s. They have since been expanded upon by numerous TV shows, games, and spin-off movies released both before and after Disney bought the Star Wars brand. 1. Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) Genre: Space Opera, Epic Chronologically the first Star Wars movie, “Episode I: The Phantom Menace” is where you should start your viewing marathon, as it establishes the main trio of characters that are the focus of the rest of the prequel trilogy: Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Padme Amidala. Set amongst the backdrop of a planet occupied by the militaristic Trade Federation, the movie is also crucial for understanding why the Clone Wars ultimately starts in later films. 2. Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) Genre: Space Opera, Epic The Saga Begins (and Concludes): How to Watch and Play EVERY Piece of Canon Star Wars Media During Quarantine Set ten years after “Episode I: The Phantom Menace,” “Episode II: Attack of the Clones” is next on the Star Wars viewing list. It revolves around Anakin Skywalker (now a moody teenager played by Hayden Christensen), who becomes the impromptu bodyguard for Padme after an attempt on her life and who ultimately becomes her secret lover. Meanwhile, Anakin’s master Obi-Wan Kenobi goes on a secret investigation to uncover a conspiracy to involve the Galactic Republic (the main government in the prequel trilogy) in a massive war. 3. Star Wars: The Clone Wars [TV Show (2008–2020) and Movie (2008)] Genre: YA Action Show, Political Thriller, Military Science Fiction Despite premiering to a very lukewarm reception, the Clone Wars TV show has since become one of the most acclaimed pieces of media in the entire Star Wars franchise thanks to the work of devoted writers and animators who improved the show in its later seasons. The show is set between Episodes II and III and mainly focuses on an adult Anakin Skywalker learning to be both a leader for his army and a teacher for his new apprentice, Ahsoka Tano. Watching this show is essential, as it contributes so much to the character development of Anakin, Obi- Wan, and Padme, which ultimately assists in the emotional payoff in the finale of “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.” Pro Tip: The Clone Wars TV show is an anthology, meaning that many of the episodes are self-contained stories, so if you try to watch it in order, you’ll end up jumping around a lot. Technically, two Clone Wars episodes take place before the Clone Wars movie (Season 2 Episode 16 and then Season 1 Episode 16). A chronological order for the TV show can be found on the Star Wars website. 4. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005): Genre: Space Opera, Epic “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” rounds out the main prequel movies. Focused on the end of the Clone Wars, you need to watch this to understand why the Galactic Republic transforms into the Empire and what ends up happening to Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padme. Pro Tip: Watch “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” interspersed with “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.” The last four episodes of Season 7 of The Clone Wars occur concurrently with “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.” Watch “Old Friends Not Forgotten” (Clone Wars Season 7, Episode 9) until 16:26, then start watching “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.” Continue until 0:38:21, then finish the Clone Wars episode. You should then watch the entirety of “The Phantom Apprentice” (Clone Wars Season 7, Episode 10) before resuming “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” up until the 1:23:56 mark. Finally, finish off the last two Clone Wars episodes before finishing “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.” This viewing order The Saga Begins (and Concludes): How to Watch and Play EVERY Piece of Canon Star Wars Media During Quarantine might seem a little strange, but given how closely the movie and show are synced up, it provides an excellent way to understand how events in the universe are playing out in real- time. 5. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019): Genre: Action-Adventure Video Game “Fallen Order” is a unique and enjoyable side story that explores the life of former Jedi Cal Kestis, who is on the run from the Empire five years after the events of “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.” Like “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” this game will assist in your understanding of how the Jedi experienced the events of “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.” Pro Tip: This is a video game, so a console or PC is required to play it. Not essential to the timeline but is beneficial for the context. 6. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018): Genre: Space Western Despite having little bearing on any major events in the Star Wars timeline, “Solo: A Star Wars Story” is a nice self-contained adventure movie which tells the backstory of everyone’s favorite smuggler and scoundrel Han Solo. The movie also features Emilia Clarke (Daenerys from “Game of Thrones”) and Donald Glover (Childish Gambino), who act in supporting roles, so why not give it a watch for its star-studded cast? 7. Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series Episodes I–III (2019): Genre: VR Experience, Action Game In this virtual reality game, you play as a smuggler who is hired by Darth Vader to uncover an ancient Sith mystery on the planet Mustafar. Like “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order,” this game is not essential to understanding the main Star Wars storyline, but it does set up some minor plot points that are found in “The Rise of Skywalker.” The game will definitely help you get a better grasp of Darth Vader’s character in the years after “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.” Pro Tip: You need at least an Oculus Quest headset for this. Similar to “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order,” the game isn’t essential but it gives context to the world and some nice character development for Darth Vader. Original Trilogy: The original trilogy comprises three movies overseen by Star Wars creator George Lucas back in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It has also since been expanded upon by a spinoff movie (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”) and an animated TV show (“Star Wars: Rebels”), both created under the supervision of Disney. This trilogy of classics is mainly about Luke Skywalker and his personal journey to fight the Empire and avenge his father, Anakin. The Saga Begins (and Concludes): How to Watch and Play EVERY Piece of Canon Star Wars Media During Quarantine 8. Star Wars: Rebels (2014–2018) Genre: Children’s Animated TV Show “Star Wars: Rebels” is a spiritual successor to the Clone Wars TV show, developed by many of the same writers and animators. You should watch this show before getting into the meat and potatoes of the OG trilogy because it explores the beginning of the Rebel Alliance (the main faction opposed to the Empire) through the eyes of Kanan Jarrus, a Jedi who survived the events of “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith,” and his apprentice Ezra Bridger. Pro Tip: The final episode’s prologue takes place after Return of the Jedi. If you want to be TRULY chronological, watch until the last episode up to 0:42:01, then watch the next four movies. You can watch the last four minutes around the time you start playing Battlefront II. 9. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) Genre: Military Science Fiction Some might say “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” isn’t essential to understanding the OG trilogy, but I disagree. “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” which canonically occurs just days before the start of “Episode IV: A New Hope,” is fundamental in understanding the situation of the Rebel Alliance at the outbreak of the Galactic Civil War. It also develops a major plot point that becomes important in the next movie on our list. 10. Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) Genre: Space Opera, Epic “Episode IV: A New Hope” is the original movie that started it all, which is essential to watch because it’s the official debut for Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo as they join the Rebel Alliance in taking up arms against the Empire. 11. Episode V: Empire Strikes Back (1980) Genre: Space Opera, Epic “Episode V: Empire Strikes Back” comes right after “Episode IV: A New Hope” in our list, but canonically the plot happens a whole three years afterwards. In this movie, the Galactic Empire, well, strikes back, forcing Han Solo, Princess Leia, and the rest of the Rebel Alliance to flee while Luke goes on his own epic odyssey to discover his inner potential.