The Skywalker Saga began telling its story in the middle. Then the franchise went backward. Then the Star Wars timeline went forwards, but not all the way back to the start. Eventually, it moved on to the future, but then it revisited the future’s past, which was also the past’s future. Yeah, we know. The Star Wars timeline is confusing. And it just keeps becoming more convoluted. Many new animated and live-action series have made keeping track of the Star Wars timeline harder than ever. But you don’t need to know the exact year each Star Wars show and film take place to follow along; you just have to know where they fit in relative to one another. And where here to help you do that by telling you when Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka both happen in the Star Wars story.
Note: We are specifically talking about the movies and TV shows in the timeline to date. We are well aware there are books and comics that take place much longer ago.
The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones Come First in the Star Wars Timeline
The Star Wars prequels introduced young Anakin to the franchise, and they also mark the start of the Skywalker family’s story. This is when Sheev Palpatine put his plan in motion, Obi-Wan Kenobi took on a dangerous Padawan, and Anakin and Padmé secretly married.
The Clone Wars Follows the First Two Star Wars Prequel Movies
The Clone Wars animated movie and its long-running spinoff series present their own continuity nightmare. The show’s episodes—which mainly take place between movies Episode II and Episode III—were not released in chronological order. Technically some episodes predate the events of Attack of the Clones. You should definitely watch The Clone Wars‘ episodes chronologically and not release order. But in terms of the animated series’ place in Star Wars, it’s enough to know the show explores the three years of galactic warfare that took place between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.
This is the time when Ahsoka became Anakin’s own Padawan, even though he was still Obi-Wan’s. The three were vital in serving the Republic against the Separatists, led publicly by Count Dooku and secretly by Darth Sidious. But before the war ended Ahsoka left the Jedi Order, which helped contribute to Anakin’s descent to the dark side.
Revenge of the Sith Comes After The Clone Wars
Anakin’s turn to the dark side overlaps with the final few episodes of The Clone Wars. Despite that, Revenge of the Sith marks the end of The Clone Wars—both the show and the galactic battle—and the start of the Empire. The good news is that Ahsoka Tano’s own story was far from over. And Revenge of the Sith also ended on a doubly hopeful note. Unbeknownst to their father, Padmé gave birth to Luke and Leia before she passed.
Additionally, before Obi-Wan Kenobi premiered, it seemed Anakin and Obi-Wan would not meet again for a long time after their duel on Mustafar. But the Disney+ shows used the ambiguity of a Darth Vader line in A New Hope to tell a new chapter of their story, setting it between Revenge of the Sith and the original Star Wars trilogy.
Obi-Wan Kenobi Takes Place Ten Years After Revenge of the Sith
So when does Obi-Wan Kenobi take place? Well, after the fall of the Jedi Order, Obi-Wan Kenobi went into hiding on Tattooine to keep watch over Luke Skywalker. His Disney+ series features Ewan McGregor as “Ben” a decade after Revenge of the Sith. We know because, on the show, little Leia Organa told him she’s ten years old. While the series doesn’t technically change any of Star Wars‘ timeline, it does create new emotional bonds between Leia and Obi-Wan Kenobi, as well as Obi-Wan and Darth Vader.
Star Wars Rebels takes place roughly four to five years after Obi-Wan Kenobi. The animated series also takes place the same amount of time before the movie that started it all.
The Original Star Wars Movie Trilogy Comes After Obi-Wan Kenobi
The first Star Wars movie serves as the basis for the method of keeping time in the galaxy far, far away. The three films cover less than five actual years of events, though. That’s how long it took to go from Leia’s message to General Kenobi to the destruction of the second Death Star and Palpatine’s demise in Return of the Jedi.
Ahsoka Will Take Place After Return of the Jedi (Around the Time of The Mandalorian)
The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett both take place a few years after Return of the Jedi, the final original trilogy movie. The upcoming Ahsoka series starring Rosario Dawson will also be set during this era. Chronologically, that Disney+ show will happen alongside the events of The Mandalorian season three. This whole era was a time when the New Republic tried returning peace to the galaxy following the defeat of the Empire. There is some speculation that Hayden Christensen will reprise his role as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in the Ahsoka series, perhaps in flashbacks harkening back to The Clone Wars.
Of course, we know something none of those people did at the time. The Emperor will still be fighting for control decades after all of this happens. But in fairness to the characters, they don’t get to bounce around the Star Wars timeline the way viewers do.
