All 10 Star Wars Animated Series in Order
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Star Wars is one of the most – if not the most – popular sci-fi fantasy ‘universes’ ever created. It all started with a movie trilogy that turned into eleven awesome live-action movies to go along with numerous live-action shows – especially after Disney bought out Lucasfilm.
However, Star Wars doesn’t end there. We all know about the plethora of novels and comic books that belong to ‘Star Wars Legends’ – a continuity outside of the main canon continuity and history set by the original films. But by far, the most epic journey one can venture into as a Star Wars fan – at least in my humble opinion – is watching the incredible Star Wars animated shows.
So far, there are ten animated Star Wars series, and most of them belong to the official Canon – apart from a few shows that predate Disney’s 2014 buyout of Lucasfilm and one that’s quite unique in its idea – but we’ll get to that. Without further ado, here’s everything you need to know about all 10 Star Wars animated series in order.
Star Wars animated series in order by release date
As we mentioned, most of the shows – apart from ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ – that predate 2014 are decanonized and considered to be a part of ‘Star Wars Legends.’ Also, the anthology series called ‘Star Wars: Visions’ is likewise non-canon. If you want to dive right in, here’s the complete list of Star Wars animated series in order by their release date
- ‘Star Wars: Droids’ (1985-1986)
- ‘Star Wars: Ewoks’ (1985-1987)
- ‘Star Wars: Clone Wars’ (2003-2005)
- ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ (2008-2020)
- ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ (2014-2018)
- ‘Star Wars: Resistance’ (2018-2020)
- ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’ (2021-)
- ‘Star Wars: Visions’ (2021-)
- ‘Tales of the Jedi’ (2022-)
- ‘Young Jedi Adventures’ (2023-)
This is the correct order in which the shows were released. However, as you can see by the release years, many of them were overlapping. Also, this order does not have the story unravel chronologically throughout the Galaxy Far, Far Away history. We’ll explain how all these shows are connected in the rest of the article. WARNING: There WILL be SPOILERS.
Are Star Wars animated series connected? What’s the best order to watch them?
Most of the shows on this list are a part of the official Star Wars canon. Basically, this means that they happen within the same universe as our beloved movies – therefore, not only are they connected to each other – they’re also connected to the eleven Star Wars films (original, prequel & sequel trilogies, along with ‘Rogue One’ and ‘Solo’).
The only four shows in this list that aren’t canon are: ‘Droids,’ ‘Ewoks,’ ‘Star Wars: Clone Wars,’ and ‘Star Wars: Visions.’ The first three, however, were considered canon until 2014, when Disney bought out Lucasfilm and made them non-canon pieces.
Although technically, you can watch this entire list of Star Wars animated series by their release date, I wouldn’t recommend it as the best possible order to watch them. I highly recommend you watch these shows in chronological order as the story unravels through the imagined history of the Galaxy.
You can even include the non-canon shows and watch everything chronologically. Over the next subheading, I’ll explain exactly how to watch all the ‘Star Wars’ animated series chronologically.
Star Wars animated series in chronological order
You’ll get the timeline mixed when you watch all the Star Wars animated shows by release order, which might be confusing. For instance, ‘Droids’ and ‘Ewoks’ both happen in between ‘Revenge of the Sith’ and ‘A New Hope’ – or between the prequel and the original trilogy.
But then, ‘Star Wars: Clone Wars’ happen right before and during ‘Attack of the Clones’ and ‘Revenge of the Sith.’ Ergo, even after watching the first three series on the list by release date, you’ve already confusingly jumbled the chronological timeline.
Watching all the shows chronologically gives you a better understanding of the events, the characters, and their personal character growth over the years. The correct chronological order of all Star Wars animated series looks like this:
- ‘Young Jedi Adventures’ (2023-)
- ‘Tales of the Jedi’ (2022-)
- ‘Star Wars: Clone Wars’ (2003-2005)
- ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ (2008-2020)
- ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’ (2021-)
- ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ (2014-2018)
- ‘Star Wars: Droids’ (1985-1986)
- ‘Star Wars: Ewoks’ (1985-1987)
- ‘Star Wars Resistance’ (2018-2020)
- ‘Star Wars: Visions’ (2021-)
Let’s break down each show a bit to let you know when it takes place and what it’s about.
1. ‘Young Jedi Adventures’ (2023-)
‘Young Jedi Adventures’ is a Disney+ & Disney Junior Original show for children that follows a group of Younglings and Apprentices at the very beginning of their training and journey to become Jedi Knights and Masters.
The only character from the movies (and other shows) that made an appearance in ‘Young Jedi Adventures’ is Master Yoda – because the show takes place during The High Republic – years after the fall of the Old Republic and centuries before the Skywalker Saga.
2. ‘Tales of the Jedi’ (2022-)
‘Tales of the Jedi’ is an anthology series released on Disney+. The first season was six episodes long, divided into two separate three-episode ‘batches.’ The first one focused on Ahsoka Tano through different points in her life, whereas the other three-episode batch focuses on a young Count Dooku while he was the Master of a young Padawan, Qui-Gon Jinn before Dooku fell to the Dark Side.
I was super excited to see that Season 2 was confirmed in April 2023 since this is one of my favorite shows on the list, but we still don’t have a release date.
3. ‘Star Wars: Clone Wars’ (2003-2005)
‘Star Wars: Clone Wars’ – not ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ – is an animated series that came out over three seasons in the early 2000s. It was canon until it was decanonized by Disney in 2014. Now, it depicts a Legends version of events during the infamous Clone Wars and the legendary endeavors of the Jedi Order of the time.
The entire show takes place between ‘Attack of the Clones’ and ‘Revenge of the Sith.’
4. ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ (2008-2020)
‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ is the only animated series that wasn’t dubbed as non-canon after Disney’s buyout of Lucasfilm in 2014. The reason? The show’s incredible popularity. An animated movie of the same name was released in 2008, but it was nowhere near as epic as this show.
We learned more about Anakin’s days between ‘Attack of the Clones’ and ‘Revenge of the Sith,’ his mentorship to Ahsoka Tano, and so much more. Season 7 Episodes 10-12 take place parallel to ‘Revenge of the Sith,’ whereas the final scene of the show’s finale takes place after ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’).
5. ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’ (2021-)
‘The Bad Batch’ happens in the immediate aftermath of ‘Revenge of the Sith’ and the final season of ‘The Clone Wars.’ The Bad Batch is a name for a group of experimental clones with genetic mutations that were first introduced in ‘The Clone Wars’ series. Those mutations allowed the Bad Batch to ignore Order 66, unlike other clone troopers who couldn’t resist it.
In their titular show, we follow the Bad Batch as they travel the galaxy, trying to find their place within it, working as mercenaries and bounty hunters while on the run from the Empire.
6. ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ (2014-2018)
‘Rebels’ revolves around a rag-tag group of rebels, including Ezra, Ahsoka, Sabine, Kanan, Hera, Zeb, and Chopper. We met most of them in ‘The Clone Wars,’ and now, we get to see what they were up to in the aftermath of Order 66.
They were a group that essentially became the early groundwork for the assembly of the Rebel Alliance, adventuring across the Galaxy and trying to take down the evil Empire. The show is closely connected to ‘The Clone Wars’ and gives us much information about Mandalore and the Mandalorians.
7. ‘Star Wars: Droids’ (1985-1986)
This show is not considered canon anymore, but it’s still absolutely awesome, in my humble opinion, despite being four decades old. It follows R2-D2 and C-3PO on their adventures between ‘Revenge of the Sith’ and ‘A New Hope,’ when they got their new master, Luke Skywalker.
Some consider both ‘Droids’ and ‘Ewoks’ as bad attempts at expanding the ‘Star Wars’ lore, but the storylines are quite entertaining and simple. If you’re an old-school ‘Star Wars’ fan, this will be right up your alley.
8. ‘Star Wars: Ewoks’ (1985-1987)
‘Ewoks’ was the second animated series within the ‘Star Wars’ universe that was basically created for kids who loved the Ewoks in ‘Return of the Jedi.’ The series focused on the fan-favorite Ewok, Wicket W. Warrick, and his friends of Endor in the period before ‘A New Hope.’
We follow their various adventures, mostly battling evil enemies such as Morag the Tulgah Witch, Master Logray, the Duloks, etc.
The final episode, ‘Battle of the Sunstar,’ connects us to ‘Return of the Jedi,’ as the Emperor’s shuttle can be seen in the background as several Ewoks board an Imperial Star Destroyed. It is presumed that it depicted the moment when the empire chose Endor as their base to create the second Death Star.
9. ‘Star Wars: Resistance’ (2018-2020)
‘Resistance’ focuses on a young pilot named Kazuda Xiono, who’s on a top-secret mission to investigate the First Order. Most of Season 1 takes place in the period leading up to ‘The Force Awakens’ – apart from the last two episodes of the season that happen parallel to the film.
Season 2 Episode 1 happens parallel to ‘The Last Jedi,’ and the rest of the season happens in the movie’s aftermath, leading up to ‘The Rise of Skywalker.’ Characters like Poe Dameron and BB-8 appear in the show, which is a plus for the sequel trilogy fans.
10. ‘Star Wars: Visions’ (2021-)
Last but not least, ‘Star Wars: Visions’ is likely the most ambitious animated project in the Star Wars universe. It doesn’t belong to the official canon, and it’s easy to understand why.
‘Visions’ is an anthology anime series of nine episodes, each made by various creators – some of which belong to the best in the anime industry, including Geno Studio, Kamikaze Douga, and others. Each creator is free to do their own ‘thing’ within the Star Wars universe, in communication with Disney and Lucasfilm.
Some episodes, like ‘The Duel,’ are set in an alternate history, while others, like ‘Tatooine Rhapsody,’ take place during the Clone Wars. Volume 2 came out on May 4th, 2023, and it featured even more different animation styles throughout the episodes. Some episodes are better, but it’s an amazing show – especially for anime fans.
Where to watch the above-mentioned shows?
Essentially, all these shows are available exclusively on Disney+ since Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2014. You can also find all the movies and live-action shows up there as well.
Will there be more Star Wars animated series?
Seeing how popular Star Wars shows and movies are – including their animated series – it’s only natural that more shows are being created as we speak. In fact, many of the shows on this list still aren’t finished. We’re eagerly awaiting the new seasons of ‘Visions,’ ‘The Bad Batch,’ and ‘Tales of the Jedi.’
Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!
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