Star Wars premiered May 25th, 1977. The movie sparked a trilogy telling the story of a princess, a smuggler and a young jedi as they battle in a rebellion against the imposing Darth Vader and the Galactic Empire, an Imperial regime dedicated to order and control "in a galaxy far far away." Since then, there have been 11 Feature Films, divided into 3 trilogies (original, prequel, and sequel) and two side stories, 3 made for TV Ewok movies, an animated Clone Wars film, four animated TV series, 5 micro series, one live action series, and a much maligned Christmas special. In addition, numerous books, comics and video games further build out the Star Wars universe. With so much material available, identifying where to start can be a daunting challenge. Hopefully this guide gives you some ideas of where to start, and some ideas of how to delve deeper into Star Wars.
Prior to 2014, the Star Wars story was continued in comics, books, video games, spin off films, cartoons, and toys. When planning for the sequel trilogy, Lucasfilm Ltd. decided it was best to start with a fresh slate for the new films. Canonical material, or material that is officially a part of the Star Wars universe, included the original 6 Star Wars feature films, the Clone Wars animated series and film, and all future material from 2014 on. All other books, comics, video games, films and toys that were once labeled the Expanded Universe (or EU) were relabeled as legends, and were no longer a part of the official Star Wars Story. However...elements of these legends (such as Grand Admiral Thrawn) have begun to make their way back into the Star Wars canon, through inclusion in Disney Star Wars properties, such as Star Wars Rebels and The Mandalorian. To help you navigate Canon and Legends media, here is a handy cheat sheet created by Fandom.com
Your Star Wars Canonicity Cheat sheet:
If you like The Clone Wars Animated Series or BAD BATCH, try Dark Disciple, The Republic Commando Books, Ashoka or Queens Shadow
If you like Star Wars Resistance Animated Series, try reading Star Wars Poe Dameron: Fee Fall.
Mandalorian Fans should try Ashoka, Thrawn, Canto Blight, the Darth Vader and Doctor Aphra Comics, the Aftermath series, and Lost Stars. You might want to try Tales from Mos Eisley or the Han Solo trilogy in Legends.
Gamers playing Battlefront 2 or Star Wars Squadrons should try Shadow Fall, Catalyst or Rebel Rising. Also try the Republic Commando series in legends.
Never seen the movies? Start with with original trilogy, A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. You might even want to start with Rogue One, which sets up A New Hope. Opinions regarding the quality of the prequels and sequels can be negative, but I find that it is truly up to the viewer. Try them out and see what you think. I enjoyed Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. I also enjoyed the Last Jedi (I might be in a minority) and Rise of Skywalker. Solo is Star Wars fan service and I appreciate it for what it is.
If you have Disney+ definately try the Mandalorian, and maybe try the Clone Wars animated series and Star Wars Rebels. Each episode of Clone Wars can be hit or miss with some being VERY kid friendly and some being not as kid friendly, but there are some gems here. My favorites tend to follow the clones.
