Here's how many Star Wars movies have been released. Ever since Disney took over Lucasfilm, the franchise has seen a plethora of new content released, with the studio most recently concluding their sequel trilogy with The Rise of Skywalker. The film was not only a culmination of Disney's trilogy that started with 2015's The Force Awakens, but it was also concluding four decades worth of storytelling over several films that all began with George Lucas' first Star Wars in 1977.
As well as the sequel trilogy, Disney has released a couple of standalone endeavors, and they're working on several Star Wars shows for Disney+ too. The franchise has also been living on in the comic form, with Marvel Comics expanding upon the stories of the movies - and doing a better job of it. That goes on top of the previously released original and prequel trilogies, both of which came from the mind of Lucas before he sold his company to the Mouse House. The Star Wars brand is perhaps bigger than ever, but it's the films that are still the driving force of the world that Lucas first created. So exactly how many Star Wars movies are there?
At present, there are 9 movies in the main, episodic Skywalker saga, as well as 2 standalone installments, or Star Wars Stories, and 1 TV film, making for a total of 12 Star Wars movies. Of course, the series is primarily known for the Skywalker saga - encapsulating the three key trilogies in the franchise. This began with the original trilogy in the late '70s and early '80s, consisting of Star Wars (later subtitled A New Hope), The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. It was followed by the prequel trilogy a couple of decades later, made up of The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith. Finally, Disney continued the saga with The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and all eventually The Rise of Skywalker. These 9 films tell the story of the Skywalkers - the original recounted Luke and Leia Skywalker's story while the prequels focused on Anakin Skywalker's turn to the dark side, and the sequels looked at the legacy of the Skywalker family.
Other films have been released that expand on the mythology and world of Star Wars. 2008's The Clone Wars was an animated Star Wars film that filled the time jump between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. However, it played more like an extended TV episode and led into the superior animated series of the same name. Disney released Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in December 2016 which occurred before A New Hope and told the story of how a group of rebels stole the Death Star plans; it was praised for its gritty action and it gave fans a new look into a galaxy far, far away. This was followed by a Han Solo prequel - Solo: A Star Wars Story - which told the origin of the fan-favorite nerf herder. It was less well-received, however, and went on to bomb at the box-office and forced Disney to halt production on future spin-offs.
It remains to be seen exactly what the future holds for Star Wars movies. Disney currently has release dates staked out for the franchise in Decembers of 2022, 2024, and 2026, while the likes of Kevin Feige and Taika Waititi are attached to upcoming movies. It's not yet been confirmed what they are or when they'll release, but it's certain that the franchise will grow beyond the currently released 12 movies.
