If there’s one Star Wars story that almost every fan can get behind — and that’s something when you realize this fandom hardly ever reaches a consensus — it’s Dave Filoni’s Clone Wars animated series, which bridged the gap between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.
One might argue, in fact, that The Clone Wars series, comprising a middling movie and seven amazing seasons of television, is the only media that not only received acclaim when it was coming out but actually stood the test of time and retained its relevancy through the years. It was also thanks to his work on this series, and Star Wars Rebels to an extent, that Filoni got to expand the MandoVerse with shows like Ahsoka and The Book of Boba Fett.
And speaking of all these other stories, it’s growing increasingly difficult to keep the timeline of the Skywalker Saga straight, so now that you know exactly where narratives like Rebels, The Mandalorian, and Ahsoka take place, let’s look further back to the days of the Republic and try to determine where The Clone Wars falls in the expansive timeline of the galaxy far, far away.
When did The Clone Wars take place?
The first movie in the prequel trilogy, The Phantom Menace, takes place in 32 BBY and the second movie, marking the beginning of the Clone Wars, is 10 years after that on 22 BBY. That means from a chronological standpoint, the first episode of The Clone Wars takes place in 22 BBY, while its final episode, revolving the infamous Siege of Mandalore arc, happens three years after that in 19 BBY.
In fact, to make it simple for you, here’s a list of every movie and television show in chronological order, with the year they took place in the Galactic Standard Calendar. (BBY is Before the Battle of Yavin and ABY is After the Battle of Yavin.)
- Episode I: The Phantom Menace (32 BBY)
- Episode II: Attack of the Clones (22 BBY)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (22–19 BBY)
- Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (19 BBY)
- Star Wars Rebels (5-1 BBY)
- Episode IV: A New Hope (0 BBY)
- Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (3 ABY)
- Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (4 ABY)
- Star Wars Rebels epilogue (5 ABY)
- The Mandalorian (9 ABY)
- The Book of Boba Fett (9 ABY)
- Ahsoka (9 ABY)
So, there you have it, folks. I hope this clears it up for you. Until the next Star Wars project comes along, that is.
