Though some people claim that Star Wars is “dead” due to its difficulty with recent cinematic releases, this couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s hard to deny that Star Wars has struggled with the film side of the franchise in recent years; the Star Wars sequel trilogy was incredibly divisive and is still widely debated on social media to this day, and Solo: A Star Wars Story, Disney’s second attempt at a Star Wars anthology movie, failed to make the expected splash at the box office. The perceived “failure” of these films is ultimately subjective, however, and Solo failing to reach the financial precedent set by its predecessor, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, does not mean the film is entirely without merit, either.
And yet, this franchise, which has built its legacy on theatrical releases, is still finding it difficult to produce another movie, five years after the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Plenty of directors and writers have come and gone, and Rian Johnson’s trilogy has been indefinitely shelved. Though three Star Wars movies are currently in the works – Star Wars: New Jedi Order, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, and the Mandalorian movie – many are finding it difficult to believe those will make it into theaters. But these problems don’t necessarily mean the entire franchise is dead. Nowadays, Star Wars is reliant on much more than just box office results, and recent findings prove the franchise is actually thriving rather than floundering.
How To Watch Star Wars Movies In Order
Here is how to watch all Star Wars movies and TV shows chronologically and in order of release, and how each fits into the Star Wars timeline.
Star Wars’ Live-Action TV Shows Are Hits
The creation of Disney+ allowed Star Wars to explore a medium it had never attempted before – live-action TV. Though the franchise had produced numerous animated TV hits such as Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, live-action television posed a different challenge. In the end, Star Wars succeeded in creating something new and exciting: The Mandalorian, later followed by The Book of Boba Fett, Andor, Ahsoka, and upcoming shows like The Acolyte and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.
Despite middling praise for The Book of Boba Fett, The Mandalorian, Andor, and Ahsoka have all found huge success in their own ways. The Mandalorian introduced viewers to a brand-new corner of the Star Wars galaxy, creating iconic characters and stepping into a period of the Star Wars timeline that was previously woefully underexplored. Andor became a critical success, garnering multiple high-profile awards nominations, and Ahsoka has proven just how beloved and pivotal Star Wars’ animated content is. In fact, despite mixed reviews, The Mandalorian season 3 was still the most-watched original streaming series in the U.S. in 2023, even beating the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s second season of Loki.
The Mandalorian may not have been released in theaters, but there is no denying its impact on popular culture. And, without the success of The Mandalorian, audiences wouldn’t have been provided with Ahsoka (the ninth most streamed show in 2023), nor would a Mandalorian movie be making its way to theaters. As the live-action TV corner of the Star Wars franchise continues to grow, with The Mandalorian season 4 in the works, there’s no telling what kind of success the franchise will be able to find next.
Star Wars Has Been Ranked 2023’s Biggest Brand… Despite No New Movies
As reported by CNBC, Star Wars was ranked the world’s biggest entertainment brand in 2023, even without a single theatrical release. Fandom, one of the world’s leading pop culture sites made for and by fans, named Star Wars as the biggest film franchise of the year, followed by Disney, Harry Potter, the MCU, and the DC Extended Universe. Fandom’s findings were based on five specific metrics: the number of content pages related to the franchise that can be found on the site, the number of fan conventions and events related to that franchise, how culturally relevant the franchise is outside its core fan base, the amount of new content the franchise produces, and ratings from critics and audiences.
Despite the hits that Star Wars has taken since the release of The Rise of Skywalker – though not necessarily of the financial variety, as the final installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy earned over $1 billion at the global box office – Star Wars has proven that it’s not going anywhere. This recent success is largely due to Disney+ and the care that Star Wars has taken in building up a new corner of the Star Wars universe there. However, Star Wars has also found success on the publishing side of things, with Star Wars: The High Republic introducing an entirely new Star Wars era with limitless potential over the last few years. This era will soon spill over onto Disney+ as well when The Acolyte premieres.
Star Wars Toy Sales Remain Through The Roof
Not only is Star Wars still wildly successful due to its live-action TV shows, but sales of Star Wars merchandise are still undeniably prevalent, too. Recently, Brand Directory named Star Wars as the strongest toy brand of 2023, which was calculated using a specific set of metrics that make up a brand’s Brand Strength Index (BSI), including factors such as marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance. Brand Directory noted the importance of Star Wars’ recent spin-off series, which allowed the brand to create a whole slew of new and popular toys – and this is no surprise. It’s impossible to walk into a toy store nowadays and not see Grogu toys dominating shelf space.
It’s Time For Star Wars To Return To The Big Screen
It’s clear that Star Wars is still as popular as ever – but that doesn’t mean it should rely too much on Disney+, publishing, and toy sales to stay relevant. Star Wars began as a film franchise, and it should endeavor to remain known as such, without letting TV dominate its entire production slate. Thankfully, there is nothing to currently indicate that Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Rey-centric film, James Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi movie, or Dave Filoni’s The Mandalorian movie are getting scrapped any time soon – in fact, Obaid-Chinoy’s New Jedi Order film is reportedly set to begin filming this year.
But Star Wars needs to ensure that these movies make it to the finish line, not just because these stories deserve to be told – which they do – but also to re-establish a feeling of trust between the franchise and its audience. Over the last few years, any time a new movie was announced only for it to be shelved a few months later due to creative differences, that trust became just a little more fragile. Star Wars and all other entertainment studios and franchises have had to navigate difficulties beyond their control over the last few years – the COVID-19 pandemic and various (necessary) strikes have made it harder to move forward in production – but now is the time to rebuild.
Star Wars is clearly thriving on the small screen, but there’s nothing like a trip to the cinema to watch the latest Star Wars release. Everything comes together when the lights dim, and those familiar yet awe-inspiring galactic vistas come onto the screen, accompanied by a magical, memorable score. Star Wars has everything it needs to entice people back into movie theaters now – goodwill, recognition, and a plethora of talent just waiting to get started. Now more than ever, it’s time for Star Wars to return to the big screen.
