Ah, the War of the Stars. …Wait, do we call it that? No? Fine. Star Wars! Is it not the best sci fi opera of all time? Does the mere sound it it not elicit joy and nostalgia for childhood? For some, no. For many, many others in a galaxy very nearby (this one), it does.
Over the decades, a scrappy film by a scrappy young filmmaker named George Lucas has ballooned into an institution just as important as the American Constitution (to some people, anyway). First, there were three movies. Then, there were six. Then Disney bought Lucasfilm and all of a sudden it was hard to keep track of all of them!
Not to worry, intrepid reader. We have done all of the hard work for you, so you can now know exactly how many Star Wars films there are, and when they came out. This useful knowledge will probably not impress the person you are trying to romantically pursue, but it will come in handy if you make a bet with someone. Anyway, let’s dig in. Here are all the Star Wars movies ever made, conveniently in the order they were released.
Star Wars: A New Hope (Episode IV) – 1977
Here it is. The one that started it all. Star Wars: A New Hope (Episode IV) introduced us to all the greats: Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO — the list goes on and on. It was an audacious film that changed the way we looked at movies forever. Didn’t hurt that it had an incredible script, either.
Truly a classic film.
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V) – 1980
The follow up to A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back delved deeper into the Star Wars universe and introduced new planets and new storylines. Han and Leia fell in love and (spoiler lol) Luke finds out that Lord Vader is actually his father!
While that whole storyline would eventually force the writing into a corner, it was so fresh and invigorating. Stellar movie.
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (Episode VI) – 1983
The epic conclusion to the Luke Skywalker storyline, Return of the Jedi tied up a lot of loose ends and introduced even more new worlds and characters, notably Jabba the Hutt and the theatrical debut of Boba Fett (he first appeared in the 1978 Holiday Special).
This marked the end of an era, and we wouldn’t get another movie for 16 years. What a fitting conclusion it was, though.
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (Episode I) – 1999
By the time The Phantom Menace dropped in 1999, the generation that grew up on Star Wars now had kids of their own. This movie, well, it divided people. It’s hard to describe the kind of hype that surrounded this. The expectations were incredible.
When it came out, all those adult fans grumbled about how it was “too much politics” and “not enough action.” The thing is, it’s for the kids. The kids loved it.
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (Episode II) – 2002
Arguably the best and most action-heavy of the prequels, Attack of the Clones returned to the pure joy of lightsaber fights and really cool looking robots. It didn’t take itself too seriously, and perhaps that’s why it worked so well.
However, it still was full of stiff green screen action that didn’t seem to have the same soul as the originals. If you ask my nephews, though, who were around seven at the time it came out, they would tell you it “totally ruled.”
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (Episode III) – 2005
Remember when I said Darth Vader being Luke’s father kind of forced the writing into a corner? Revenge of the Sith is the epitome of that. Here’s an easy one: in A New Hope, Ben Kenobi tells Luke that his father “wanted him to have” his lightsaber.
In this movie, Ben and Anakin’s last fight is one of hatred and dismemberment. There was no “give my son my lightsaber” moment. Also, Vader would have reacted differently when they met on the death star so many years later, don’t you think? Still a pretty good final battle though.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Episode VII) – 2015
Alright, now we’re in the Disney era. Disney bought the Star Wars studio Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion and boy were they going to milk it for all it was worth. They started pumping out Star Wars movies like a dairy farm pumps out milk.
The Force Awakens was fine. It wasn’t spectacular, and it probably didn’t need a sequel two years later, but that’s a different story.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story — 2016
Rogue One was incredible. Someway, somehow Disney made the best Star Wars film of the new era. It checked all the boxes for what makes a Star Wars movie great, and without all the bloat. It had stakes, great characters, an awesome script and really effective visual effects.
For a moment there, it seemed like Disney was going to pull this thing off! Oh, how wrong we were.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Episode VIII) – 2017
The follow-up to a so-so movie, The Last Jedi was another perfectly serviceable film, but got into the area of diminishing returns. Fans maybe thought they wanted a Star Wars film a year, but this is when things started to go south and everyone started to realize maybe that’s not the best idea.
Plots at this point just felt rehashed with new characters. There was no Empire but there was… Something something force? Who knows. It was kind of a mess. The worst was yet to come.
Solo: A Star Wars Story – 2018
This was pretty much the nail in the coffin of the yearly releases. Solo was simply a bad film. It was the first Star Wars movie to be universally panned. No one really liked it, and it bombed harder than an anvil on a clay pot.
In a different timeline, this movie did incredibly well, and got seven spinoffs, and Disney could milk its cash cow for more and more money. Alas, not the case in our timeline.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Episode IX) – 2019
Does anyone remember the plot of this one? Was this the one where Rey was actually Palpatine’s granddaughter, and Kylo becomes Ben, and then they kiss for some reason? A Proust novel is less convoluted than the plot of this movie.
Disney wisely hit pause on the Star Wars films and we haven’t had one since. Unfortunately, there are new movies in the pipeline, but fortunately, Disney is taking its time with those. Hopefully, the mouse house can learn from its mistakes and the next movie will actually be something new and exciting for the fanbase. Regardless, the kids will love it, and you know what? Maybe that’s all that matters.
The answer is 11, by the way. There are 11 Star Wars movies.