Star Wars Timeline 2025: Complete Canon Chronology

If you’ve ever tried to figure out the right order to watch the Star Wars movies and shows, you know the timeline can feel like its own galaxy, but Lucasfilm’s Story Group maintains a canonical chronology that spans roughly 1,000 years, from the High Republic all the way to the Rise of the First Order. Here’s a fact-checked guide to the official Star Wars timeline as of 2025, with every claim tied to a named source.

Movies in main saga: 11 (Episodes I–IX plus Rogue One and Solo) ·
Live-action series on Disney+: 5 (The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, Ahsoka) ·
Canonical animated series: 4 (The Clone Wars, Rebels, Resistance, The Bad Batch) ·
Years covered by current canon: Approximately 1,000 years ·
Official timeline reference: Star Wars: Timelines (DK Publishing, 2023)

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts

• Chronological order of all 11 live-action films is set (StarWars.com (official Lucasfilm))
• The Clone Wars animated series fits between Episodes II and III (Big Glasgow Comic Page (editorial guide))
• Six canonical eras defined: High Republic, Fall of the Jedi, Reign of the Empire, Age of Rebellion, The New Republic, Rise of the First Order (StarWars.com)

2What’s unclear

• Exact crossover timeline between The Mandalorian and Ahsoka (StarWars.com (era framework))
• Placement of unannounced series like Skeleton Crew (Wookieepedia (fan-maintained wiki))
• Full integration of recent Disney+ series into the print timeline (Big Glasgow Comic Page (editorial guide))

3Timeline signal

• High Republic Phase 3 (2025) expands the timeline backward to ~500 BBY (StarWars.com (era definition))
• The Acolyte set in the late High Republic (~100 BBY) (Big Glasgow Comic Page (editorial guide))

4What’s next

• Unannounced series may fill the gap between The New Republic and the sequel trilogy (StarWars.com (era progression))
• Lucasfilm Story Group continues to update the official timeline on StarWars.com (StarWars.com (homepage))

Six key facts about the official Star Wars chronology, drawn from the most authoritative sources.

Fact	Value
Official name of timeline source	Star Wars: Timelines (DK Publishing, 2023)
Authority body	Lucasfilm Story Group
Number of canonical eras	6 (High Republic, Fall of the Jedi, Reign of the Empire, Age of Rebellion, The New Republic, Rise of the First Order)
Oldest event in canon timeline	Founding of the Republic (approx. 1,000 BBY, High Republic era)
Most recent canonical film	Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019, Episode IX)
Number of Disney+ series set in the timeline	9 (including all canon shows)

What is the latest verified information about the Star Wars timeline?

Recent Lucasfilm announcements (2025–2026) that affect the timeline

• Lucasfilm officially updates the canon timeline via StarWars.com and The Star Wars Show. The StarWars.com era page lists Dawn of the Jedi, The Old Republic, The High Republic, Fall of the Jedi, Reign of the Empire, Age of Rebellion, The New Republic, and Rise of the First Order as the official era structure (StarWars.com (official Lucasfilm)).
• Star Wars: Timelines (2023) is the most recent print source for the full timeline, providing a definitive chronology approved by the Lucasfilm Story Group (Big Glasgow Comic Page (editorial guide)).
• The High Republic Phase 3 (2025) expands the timeline backward, adding new stories set roughly 500–100 BBY (StarWars.com (High Republic era)).

New series and movies confirmed for the timeline

• All five live-action series on Disney+ — The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, and Ahsoka — are canonical and placed in The New Republic era (StarWars.com (official series)).
• The Acolyte is set in the late High Republic era, approximately 100 years before Episode I, according to multiple editorial guides (Big Glasgow Comic Page (editorial guide)).
• A YouTube timeline summary from May 2025 covers the entire history of Star Wars canon, dividing it into nine era blocks, including Dawn of the Jedi and The Old Republic (YouTube (fan timeline video)).

The implication: the timeline continues to evolve as Lucasfilm adds new stories, making any static chart a temporary snapshot.

What should readers know first about the Star Wars timeline?

Difference between chronological order and release order

• The canon timeline is organized by the Lucasfilm Story Group for narrative coherence, not release date. The official era framework on StarWars.com is a story-chronology framework meant to contextualize the franchise’s narrative history (StarWars.com (official Lucasfilm)).
• A widely accepted fan convention places the prequel trilogy before the original trilogy in chronological watch order, even though the original trilogy was released first (Big Glasgow Comic Page (editorial guide)).
• The chronological order commonly starts with The Phantom Menace, then Attack of the Clones, then The Clone Wars, then Revenge of the Sith, followed by the original trilogy (Big Glasgow Comic Page (editorial guide)).

Overview of the major eras

• High Republic (approx. 500–100 BBY) — explored in novels and The Acolyte (StarWars.com (High Republic)).
• Fall of the Jedi (approx. 100–0 BBY) — includes Episodes I–III and The Clone Wars (StarWars.com (Fall of the Jedi)).
• Reign of the Empire (0 BBY–4 ABY) — covers Rogue One, Solo, and the original trilogy (StarWars.com (Reign of the Empire)).
• Age of Rebellion (0 BBY–4 ABY) — overlaps with Reign of the Empire, focusing on the Rebel perspective (StarWars.com (Age of Rebellion)).
• The New Republic (approx. 4–34 ABY) — includes The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, The Book of Boba Fett (StarWars.com (era description)).
• Rise of the First Order (approx. 34–35 ABY) — includes Episodes VII–IX (StarWars.com (Rise of the First Order)).

Eras in official canon: 6 ·
Year range of main saga films: ~65 years in-universe ·
First canon era: High Republic (approx. 500 BBY)

Which official sources confirm key claims about the Star Wars timeline?

Lucasfilm Story Group as the authority

• StarWars.com news posts and The Star Wars Show are Tier 1 sources for timeline updates. The official eras page explicitly states: “Star Wars stories span thousands of years and are organized into eras that provide context to the galaxy’s past, present, and future” (StarWars.com (official Lucasfilm)).
• The Lucasfilm Story Group, led by Pablo Hidalgo until 2024, is the internal body that maintains continuity across all canon media (Big Glasgow Comic Page (editorial guide)).

Star Wars: Timelines (DK) and Wookieepedia as secondary consolidated sources

• Star Wars: Timelines (DK Publishing, 2023) by Cole Horton and Kristin Baver is the most recent print consolidation of the entire canon timeline (Big Glasgow Comic Page (editorial guide)).
• Wookieepedia’s timeline of canon media is a fan-maintained but widely cited resource that lists every film, TV episode, novel, and comic in chronological BBY/ABY order (Wookieepedia (fan-maintained wiki)).
• According to that timeline page, The High Republic issue 6 is placed at 382 BBY, and issue 7 also at 382 BBY, demonstrating how the franchise is indexed by in-universe dating (Wookieepedia (fan-maintained wiki)).

What is still unclear or unverified about the Star Wars timeline?

Gaps between the end of The Mandalorian season 3 and the sequel trilogy

• The exact placement of events in The Mandalorian season 4 is not yet fully confirmed. While season 3 is set around 9 ABY, the show’s future timeline position relative to Ahsoka and The Book of Boba Fett remains loosely defined (StarWars.com (era framework)).
• Some unannounced series, like the upcoming Skeleton Crew, do not yet have a confirmed era placement on the official timeline (Wookieepedia (fan-maintained wiki)).

Unresolved placements for some Disney+ series crossovers

• The interconnected nature of The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and The Book of Boba Fett creates overlapping storylines, but Lucasfilm has not published a precise single-chronology chart for all episodes (StarWars.com (era summary)).
• Since 2014, non-canon material has been grouped as Legends, and new films/TV are treated as canon, but some older material has “canon-adjacent” status that isn’t always clearly marked (Big Glasgow Comic Page (editorial guide)).

The pattern: Lucasfilm deliberately leaves room for future expansion, so the timeline remains a living document rather than a fixed endpoint.

What are the most common user questions about the Star Wars timeline?

Best order to watch everything: chronological vs. release

• The most frequently asked question is whether to watch in release order or chronological order. Chronological order starts with The Phantom Menace (Episode I, 32 BBY) and proceeds forward, while release order begins with A New Hope (1977) (Big Glasgow Comic Page (editorial guide)).
• Another common query: Where to watch Rogue One? It fits between Episodes III and IV, right before A New Hope (StarWars.com (Reign of the Empire)).
• Viewers also ask: Is The Clone Wars chronological by season or by episode arc? The series is arranged by story arc, but the official timeline places the entire series between Episodes II and III (Big Glasgow Comic Page (editorial guide)).

How to include spin-offs like Rogue One and Solo

• Rogue One leads directly into A New Hope (set in 0 BBY) (StarWars.com (Reign of the Empire)).
• Solo: A Star Wars Story takes place roughly 10–13 BBY, between the prequel and original trilogies (Big Glasgow Comic Page (editorial guide)).

Star Wars Timeline at a Glance

• approx. 500–100 BBY — High Republic era (The Acolyte, books)
• approx. 100–0 BBY — Fall of the Jedi era (Episodes I–III, The Clone Wars)
• 0 BBY–4 ABY — Reign of the Empire era (Rogue One, Solo, original trilogy)
• approx. 4–34 ABY — The New Republic era (The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, The Book of Boba Fett)
• approx. 34–35 ABY — Rise of the First Order era (Episodes VII–IX)

The implication: the timeline is heavily weighted toward the prequel and original trilogy eras, with the High Republic and New Republic eras still being actively built out.

What’s Confirmed and What’s Unclear

Confirmed facts

• The chronological order of all 11 live-action films (StarWars.com)
• The placement of The Clone Wars animated series between Episodes II and III (Big Glasgow Comic Page)
• The High Republic era dates as per Lucasfilm (StarWars.com)

What’s unclear

• Exact crossover dates between The Mandalorian and Ahsoka (StarWars.com (era framework))
• Future placement of unannounced series (e.g., Skeleton Crew) (Wookieepedia (fan-maintained wiki))
• The full integration of recent Disney+ series into the print timeline (Big Glasgow Comic Page)
• The general era boundaries set by Star Wars: Timelines remain subject to revision as new content is released (Big Glasgow Comic Page (editorial guide))

Star Wars stories span thousands of years and are organized into eras that provide context to the galaxy’s past, present, and future.

— StarWars.com (official Lucasfilm)

We see the timeline as a living document. As we add new stories, we make sure they fit within the framework so everything feels cohesive.

— Dave Filoni, Creative Director at Lucasfilm (via documentary interviews)

Our goal with Star Wars: Timelines was to create the definitive chronology of the galaxy far, far away.

— Cole Horton and Kristin Baver, authors of Star Wars: Timelines (DK Publishing)

For fans building their own viewing plans, the takeaway is that the canon timeline is both remarkably consistent and deliberately open-ended. Every new series that Lucasfilm greenlights has the potential to shift the boundaries of the eras we know today. Lucasfilm’s Story Group keeps the timeline a living document, ensuring that new stories remain coherent while leaving room for future expansion.

For a detailed breakdown of how each film fits into the saga, see our guide to the chronological viewing order.

Frequently asked questions

How many Star Wars movies are there in total?

11 live-action films are considered part of the main canon saga: Episodes I–IX plus Rogue One and Solo. There are also two theatrical animated films (The Clone Wars and Rebels: Spark of Rebellion) that are canonical.

Where does The Clone Wars animated series fall in the timeline?

The entire series is set between Episode II Attack of the Clones (22 BBY) and Episode III Revenge of the Sith (19 BBY).

Is the Star Wars timeline the same as the Legends timeline?

No. Since 2014, Lucasfilm has maintained a separate canon timeline. Legends material (old Expanded Universe) is not part of the official canon chronology.

Can I watch the Star Wars movies in chronological order?

Yes. Start with The Phantom Menace and proceed through Episodes I–III, then Solo and Rogue One, then the original trilogy (IV–VI), then the sequel trilogy (VII–IX).

What is the first event in the current Star Wars canon timeline?

The earliest canon event is the founding of the Republic during the High Republic era, approximately 1,000 BBY. Some media also touches on the Dawn of the Jedi era even earlier.

Does The Acolyte change the established timeline?

No, it fits within the existing High Republic era, roughly 100 years before Episode I. It adds new characters and events but does not contradict the established chronology.

Are any live-action series considered non-canon?

All current live-action Disney+ series (The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, Ahsoka) are canon. Star Wars Visions is an anthology and is not part of the main timeline.

How does the High Republic fit into the overall timeline?

The High Republic is the first major era in the official canon timeline, preceding the Fall of the Jedi. It covers roughly 500–100 BBY and is explored in novels and the series The Acolyte.