How to watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars in order (release and chronological) (original) (raw)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

(Image credit: Disney/Lucasfilm)

It's not easy to work out how to watch The Clone Wars in order. There are two ways of watching the animated Star Wars show: in chronological order or release order. Yep, you read that right. The Clone Wars, which takes place between the live-action prequel movies Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, was not originally released in chronological order. After all, that's nothing new for the saga. But, if you want a smooth viewing experience, you'll need to jump around a fair amount to figure out which episodes go together. Otherwise, you'll find story arcs are split up, sometimes across seasons.

But that's where we come in. We've got the official chronological watch order right here, so you can have a seamless binge-watch experience. We've also included the feature-length animated movie, too, though you shouldn't start there if you're planning a chronological watch.

There's never been a better time to catch up on The Clone Wars, either, with the live-action side of Star Wars drawing more and more on the animated shows: Ahsoka Tano, Bo-Katan Kryze, Cad Bane, and Huyang have all made the jump to live-action.

So, for everything you need to watch The Clone Wars in order, head to the below. If you're pressed for time, though, try our guide on what to watch before Ahsoka instead for some essential episodes to get to know Snips.

How to watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars in order: release

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

(Image credit: Disney/Lucasfilm)

This couldn't be more simple – Disney Plus already has the episodes sorted in the order they aired; all you have to do is watch along as the seasons are presented to you on the streamer, starting with season 1 episode 1. You can also start with the live-action prequel movies, which came first.

There are multiple major upsides to watching this way: the series was (of course) initially presented in release order, and there are recaps at the start of each episode that fill you in on the relevant context. It also makes for a very varied viewing experience: this method is more like a collection of separate stories that stretch across the duration of the galaxy's Clone Wars.

As for the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated movie, it's probably best to watch that first (it's also streaming on Disney Plus). It's also worth noting that the episodes were released at weird times when you consider the main Skywalker Saga movies – we recommend watching the show separately from any attempt to put in the movies, at least if you're watching in release order. Chronologically, the answer is slightly different.

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How to watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars in order: chronological

Reminder: this is Star Wars, so naturally there's a far more complicated way of doing things – but watching in chronological order could enhance your viewing experience. This is the way to go if you would prefer to watch the animated series in the order the events occur.

The benefit of choosing this method is that you see storylines play out in one go, rather than watching them spread out with other episodes interrupting – this way feels a lot more like watching one long story, rather than an anthology series.

Here's the official chronological order, also including the prequel movies. To note: the events of part of the final season of The Clone Wars take place simultaneously with Revenge of the Sith. It's probably best to watch Episode III and then watch the corresponding Clone Wars episodes.

If you're up to date on The Clone Wars, check out our roundup of all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows coming soon from the galaxy far, far away – and if you're not signed up already, subscribe to Disney Plus here. You can also check out our ranking of the best Star Wars movies.

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.