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All the Disney Plus Star Wars series ranked from worst to best
It’s hard to believe that almost everything filmed related to Star Wars is now available to stream on Disney Plus for a relatively low monthly fee. In addition to all the films, you can also check out tons of Star Wars TV shows as well. We decided to offer a list of the Star Wars series, ranked from worst to best. The truth is that all of these shows have some measure of quality to them, but which one is really the best?
A quick word about this list: We have decided to bypass the kids animated shows like Droids or Ewoks that were made in the 1980s on this list because they are just not worth anyone’s time. That also goes for The Ewok Adventure live-action TV movies and all those Lego Star Wars shows and specials. If you want to check out the Star Wars shows on this list, or almost anything Star Wars-related, you can sign up for Disney Plus at the link below:
Disney Plus Star Wars series ranked
Editor’s note: We will update these rankings as more new Star Wars series are added to Disney Plus.
11. Resistance
This animated series, which first debuted on Disney XD a few years ago, didn’t really click with fans of the franchise. While it’s definitely a well-made show, the choice to go with a more cel-shaded animation style didn’t align with the style set in previous shows like The Clone Wars or Rebels. It’s set, at least at first, before the events of The Force Awakens. The show centers on a New Republic pilot who gets recruited by the Resistance. His mission is to go to the Colossus, a location where all the galaxy’s best pilots hang out. He’s asked to see if he can determine if any of the people on the Colossus are part of the growing and evil First Order movement. It’s a solid premise for the show, but for much of its run, it didn’t have the same urgency as The Clone Wars had.
10. Tales of the Jedi
This series of six animated short subjects are all in the style of The Clone Wars show. The shorts center on two very different Jedi. One storyline follows Ahsoka Tano through her early life, while she was a Jedi and her life after the events in the prequel film trilogy. The other storyline concerns Count Dooku. We first see him as a Jedi, but then we see what happened that might have turned him to The Dark Side. Overall, the series of shorts are well made, and fans of The Clone Wars should check them out. The reason this is so low on our Star Wars series ranked list is that we would have liked to have seen these brief shorts turned into full episodes. As it stands, these feel like filler material.
9. Clone Wars
Before Lucasfilm developed the CGI-based series The Clone Wars, there was another 2D animated series set during the prequel trilogy that was just called Clone Wars (no “The” in the title). It was created for The Cartoon Network by Genndy Tartakovsky, who had previously created acclaimed shows like Dexter’s Laboratory and Samurai Jack. It was that latter show that Clone Wars most resembles in its art style. While the show’s storylines are now considered non-canonical in the Star Wars universe, there are some great episodes here to check out, including some battles between Jedi and the evil General Grievous. Disney Plus has collected all of the short episodes into two sections that are over an hour in length.
8. Rebels
The animated series is set well after the events of the prequel trilogy, as a small group of rebels is seen trying to defy the Galactic Empire. While the storylines are largely separate from those on The Clone Wars show, it does have some characters from that series show up, now much older than what we have seen before. The storylines are solid, but there’s just something missing in this series compared to The Clone Wars. It’s worth watching, but keep your expectations low.
7. The Bad Batch
This series is a direct sequel to The Clone Wars. It follows a group of clone troopers with genetic mutations who have managed to escape the influence of the Emperor’s Order 66 mind control implants. They now work as mercenaries and take on various jobs, some of which put them directly in the path of the newly formed Galactic Empire. If you like military-style sci-fi action, you should love this series. There’s just one season now, but a second one is coming to Disney Plus in January 2023.
6. Visions
This is perhaps the most unique show on our Star Wars series ranked list. It’s a series of animated short subjects that were made by some of the best anime studios in Japan. The Star Wars franchise has some definite Japanese movie roots, so it’s great to see the universe through these different eyes. The animation styles vary wildly, as do the storylines, which are set in different times in the Star Wars universe or, in one short subject, set in an alternate timeline. You can watch the seven shorts now, and a second season, with animation from various studios around the world, is set for early 2023.
5. Obi-Wan Kenobi
While this Star Wars show is definitely worth your time to watch, this is still the most disappointing of the live-action shows on this Star Wars series ranked list. On the plus side, it has some excellent visuals and production value, and it’s great to see Ewan McGregor back playing the title role as he did in the prequel film trilogy. We also loved seeing the Jedi hunting Inquisitors in live action for the first time. The main storyline has Kenobi trying to rescue a young Princess Leia from the Inquisitors and the Empire. The show does get a bit bogged down in the middle episodes. Also, while do get to see Kenobi and Darth Vader duke it out in the final episode, their lightsaber and Force battles didn’t have the punch that they should have had. However, the show is still worth watching, and perhaps we will get a second season one day.
4. The Book of Boba Fett
This show’s one-and-done season seems, on the surface, to have been created to give Pedro Pascal, the star of The Mandalorian, a bit of a break after the end of that show’s second season. Instead, we get one of Star Wars’ most popular side characters starring in his own series. The first part of the show bounces back and forth between Boba Fett taking over the main criminal organization on Tatooine and a look back at how he managed to escape from the Sarlacc Pit in Return of the Jedi, and his immediate adventures after that. It takes a while to get going, but once The Mandalorian himself makes an appearance for the final few episodes, the show finds its footing.
3. The Clone Wars
Well before the release of the Star Wars sequel film trilogy, fans of the franchise made this animated series a huge hit. It’s easy to see why. Expanding the Clone Wars period of the prequel trilogy was a perfect way to introduce new characters, get insight into established characters, and have lots of conflict and great storylines. The animation also improved from season to season, and that final seventh season, made exclusively for Disney Plus, has some of the best, and most emotional stories ever made for Star Wars. It also has a lot of influence and crossovers in most of the live-action shows on this Star Wars series ranked list. If you have never seen it, watch it now.
2. The Mandalorian
When this show was first announced as part of the overall Disney Plus launch, fans got excited at the prospect of a space Western series set in the Star Wars universe. When it actually debuted in November 2019, no one expected that the stand-out character would be “Baby Yoda” Grogu. The first season hit on all cylinders, as we saw Grogu and The Mandalorian go on a series of adventures. The second season was not quite as good, but it got better in the second half, thanks to the live-action debut of Ahsoka, and the plot to kidnap Grogu by the remnants of The Empire. We can’t wait to see season 3 in 2023.
1. Andor
The first season of this show is not only the best Star Wars TV series so far, but it may also be one of the best Star Wars live-action projects ever. One of the reasons is that this show feels much more reliable compared to other series with Jedi Knights with their force powers and light sabers. There are no mystical warriors here to save the galaxy. There are just people (humans and aliens) with no special powers but who are trying to overthrow this massive and evil Empire. The show’s grittiness is evident in the visual style and effects, and the performances by Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, Stellan Skarsgård as Rebel Alliance member Luthen Rael, and others elevate this material. The second 12-episode season cannot arrive soon enough.
Upcoming Star Wars shows
In addition to new seasons of The Mandalorian, Andor, Star Wars: Visions, and The Bad Batch, there is a bunch of other Star Wars series coming in the near future to Disney Plus:
- Ahsoka — A show about the Jedi first seen in The Clone Wars animated series. Rosario Dawson will play the title role, reprising her role from the second season of The Mandalorian.
- The Acolyte — Not much is known about this series, which will be set 100 years before the events of the prequel film trilogy and will follow a couple of Jedi Knights looking into some odd events.
- Skeleton Crew — Set in the Mandalorian timeline, this series has been described as a coming-of-age story. Four teenagers will serve as the main cast of characters, alongside another adult character who will be played by Jude Law.