How to watch Star Wars: May the fourth be with you!
Your one-stop guide to watching every Stars Wars film, including the new animated spin-off series Star Wars: The Bad Batch
Every year on Stars Wars Day (May the fourth!), Disney adds another Star Wars title to its already-vast library. Last year, the franchise added 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. This year, Disney Plus is adding a new animated spin-off series called Star Wars: The Bad Batch, which is set in the aftermath of Clone Wars.
Disney Plus is the home to every single Star Wars movie – and spin-off title. Since launching in the UK last year, the streaming service has quickly amassed over 100 million worldwide subscribers, making it one of the fastest-growing streaming services in the world.
If you live in the UK, you can subscribe to Disney Plus for £7.99/mnth or £79.90/year, which results in a 15% saving. Prices tend to differ from country to country, but almost every Disney Plus library should have the entire range of Star Wars films and spin-off titles.
There are very few media franchises that are as successful and popular as Star Wars. After the release of the first Star Wars film in 1977, the series quickly became a household name and continues to remain culturally relevant to this day.
It’s rare that any piece of modern media manages to achieve such long-lasting success but Star Wars has managed to both capture and retain the imagination of millions of viewers worldwide for over four decades. Having expanded its reach into all forms of entertainment, the influence of this now monolithic franchise is practically inescapable.
Set in a galaxy far, far away, the movies introduced cinema-goers to a tale of good versus evil on a galactic scale, filled to the brim with memorable characters such as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia Organa and, one of the most iconic and memorable villains in popular culture, Darth Vader.
With 12 movies to its name and a storyline that spans decades, now is the perfect time to go back and watch every film in the franchise.
How to watch every Star Wars movie in the UK: Disney Plus
Disney Plus is a streaming service that has all of Disney’s vast array of owned properties, including Star Wars and its spin-off series The Mandalorian and the animated series The Clone Wars. If you’re based in the UK, the streaming service costs either £7.99/mnth or £79.90/year, which is cheaper than both Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
Below are the Star Wars films that are on the service, all of which are available to stream in the UK in 4K or HD.
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
- Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
- Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
- Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
- Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
- Star Wars Episode XI: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
- Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
- Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
What’s the correct order to watch the Star Wars films – for first-time viewers
In total, there are 11 Star Wars movies, listed in the order of release. The biggest question that people ask is: What’s the correct order to watch the Star Wars films?
The answer to this burning question largely depends on whether you’re someone who wants to watch every single film for the first time, or whether you’re simply re-watching it and want to enjoy it chronologically.
If you’re watching the entire Star Wars series for the very first time, then stick to the order of theatrical release for the Skywalker saga series, and watch the two anthology films at the end.
Star Wars Original trilogy
- Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
- Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
- Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)
Star Wars Prequel trilogy
- Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
- Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)
- Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Star Wars Sequel trilogy
- Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015)
- Star Wars Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017)
- Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Star Wars Anthology films
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
- Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
What’s the correct order to watch the Star Wars films – chronologically
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
- Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
- Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
- Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
- Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
- Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
- Star Wars Episode XI: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Either way, you can now begin your Star Wars binge and enjoy all the Star Wars films by subscribing to Disney Plus, and using a VPN if you need to.
How to watch Star Wars anywhere in the world: use a good VPN service
Disney Plus is the only streaming service that lets you watch every Star Wars film film and spin-off series in the US and UK. If you live outside these countries – even in one where Disney Plus is available – you may not be able to watch every Star Wars movie. Your best bet is to first log in to your Disney Plus account and check if you can watch the movies.
If you can’t – or you live in a country where Disney Plus is not available – then your only option is to use a good VPN service. Not only will this shield all your browsing traffic – meaning no one (neither your ISP nor any trackers) will be able to know what you’re doing online – you can also spoof your PC’s location to essentially browse from anywhere in the world that you want.
READ NEXT: How to watch Disney Plus abroad
If that sounds like it would come in handy, then we’ve created a shortlist of the three best VPN services below. Simply choose the one you want, change your location to the US or UK (depending on whose Disney Plus streaming catalogue you want to access), then go to Disney Plus and stream any of the Star Wars films in maximum resolution to your heart’s content.
READ NEXT: Best VPN services
Based on all the VPNs we’ve tested, ExpressVPN is our favourite and fastest. This means that you can watch all of the Star Wars movies lag-free on any of the services we’ve mentioned above, regardless of where in the world you’re browsing from. It comes with a 30-day no-questions-asked moneyback guarantee and 24/7 customer, so you’ll never run into an issue. Our readers all get three months free if you choose the one year plan.
Our second-best VPN service is NordVPN. It shares many of the same characteristics as ExpressVPN, including a fast connection and servers spread generously across the globe to let you watch Star Wars on Disney Plus US or UK. NordVPN has recently upgraded its technology to include a new NordLynx protocol that’s said to be faster and much more secure than it was earlier. It also has great time-limited offers that you can avail of.
Another good option is CyberGhost VPN, one of the most streaming-friendly VPNs that you can use on seven devices at the same time. It shares many of the same features as our top two VPNs, including 24/7 customer support, a strict no-logs policy and support for a wide range of devices, including laptops, mobile phones and tablets, so you can use it to stream Star Wars in your bed or on your commute.