Ahead of The Mandalorian Season 3, Olly Dyche ranks Disney+’s original Star Wars shows from worst to best…
Star Wars is one of the most popular franchises of all time, and for good reason. Its stories, characters, worlds and lore are simply incomparable and have built an incredibly loyal fanbase. Since Disney’s acquisition of the IP, the movies have had a fairly rough go of it, with the Sequel Trilogy facing much criticism from fans and leaving the big screen future of the series a little dead in the water. Enter Disney+.
Since Lucasfilm began pumping out original Star Wars series for the streaming service, Star Wars has arguably become bigger and better than ever. Series like The Mandalorian, The Bad Batch and the final series of The Clone Wars brought the franchise back in the eyes of many disillusioned fans, followed by shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars Visions and the brilliant Andor.
And, so with The Mandalorian about to premiere its third season and the likes of Star Wars: Ahsoka, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and Star Wars: The Acolyte all on the horizon, here are our favourite Disney+ Original Star Wars shows from worst to best…
8. Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett
Boba Fett is one of the franchise’s most beloved characters, so a series centered around the badass bounty hunter sounded like a recipe for success. Top that off with the series being a continuation of The Mandalorian universe, and The Book of Boba Fett was sure to be amazing. However, it was anything but.
We got some cool characters, like Black Krrsantan and of course Cad Bane making their debuts in live action, the action was cool, and we got to see our favorite Mandalorian and his adopted little green companion Grogu. Sadly, this all took away from it being a Boba Fett series and it felt more like The Mandalorian season 2.5. It was fine, but felt very disappointing compared to the rest of the series on this list.
7. Star Wars: The Bad Batch
First appearing in The Clone Wars, The Bad Batch are an awesome and unique team of clone troopers we loved every second of, so when it was announced that a series centering on the team, created by The Clone Wars showrunner Dave Filoni, we were beyond excited. Thankfully, the show has more than delivered.
Currently on its second season, The Bad Batch has hooked audiences into its vibrant animation, awesome characters and engaging stories, along with appearances from fan favorite Clone Wars characters like Captain Rex, Commander Cody and the Wookie Jedi Gungi
6. Star Wars: Visions
Anime is huge, sporting one of biggest fandoms in the world. So, when Disney gathered seven of Japan’s best animation studios to put their own unique animated spin on the Star Wars franchise, anticipation was high. Each episode sports a different animation style in seven anthology episodes. The series is uniquely stylish, and tells awesome stories with brand new characters introduced to the franchise.
Star Wars: Visions was such a success that Disney recently announced that the diverse animated spectacular will get a second season, hiring companies like Aardman, Cartoon Saloon and Punk Robot among many others. Although season two will depart from its anime inspired art style, we are still excited to see what these animation studios have to offer.
5. Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi was undoubtedly the most anticipated Star Wars series to date, with Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen returning to their iconic roles 17 years after their last appearances in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
As a whole the series did deliver on every aspect we could have wished for, with thrilling lightsaber battles, awesome cameos and an engaging story – not to mention, Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christiansen’s phenomenal performances. Sadly however, the show’s pacing and some of its writing was where things fell flat, but Obi-Wan Kenobi was still nonetheless a great Star Wars TV show.
4. Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi
Consisting of six episodes, with three focusing on Ahsoka Tano and three focusing on Count Dooku before he turned to the dark side, Tales of the Jedi was a brilliant surprise that we can’t wait to see more of.
Tales of the Jedi attempted to fill in gaps in the Star Wars universe for some of the franchise’s most compelling characters, and also featured some amazing cameos that we did not expect. Characters like Yaddle, Qui-Gon Jinn, Captain Rex and many other of our favorite characters from The Clone Wars series, made exciting and incredibly important appearances. With Dave Filoni back at the helm, Tales of the Jedi was full of brilliant character arcs, intriguing stories and well directed Star Wars action.
3. Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Season 7
After Star Wars: The Clone Wars was abruptly cancelled following Disney’s Lucasfilm takeover, fans were rightfully disappointed. Thankfully however, Disney announced they were reviving the beloved animated show for one final season, and it was by far the best season yet.
Filled with high stakes, exhilarating action and heartbreaking finale that ranks among the best moments in the entire Star Wars franchise, season seven of Star Wars: The Clone Wars delivered a satisfying, epic and emotional ending that was more than worth the wait.
2. Star Wars: Andor
When the Rogue One spinoff Andor was announced, fans weren’t exactly jumping for joy. However, when the show dropped at the end of 2022, Andor left many fans floored. This jaw dropping series had all the drama, characterisation and scale of an epic HBO drama, set in the Star Wars universe, something that the Star Wars universe needed.
Andor helped elevate the Star Wars universe and made the franchise much more accessible to casual audiences, exploring the intricate politics of Star Wars, and having fans and audiences everywhere cheering during many of the show’s most thrilling and hyped up moments. Andy Serkis’ “Never more than 12” line still fills us with goosebumps.
1. The Mandalorian
The Mandalorian is easily the most absorbing Star Wars show to date and in its two seasons to date, the series is arguably the best thing to come out of the franchise in years.
Most famous for its adorable green mascot, Grogu, The Mandalorian is full of thrilling set-pieces, amazing characters, jaw dropping cameos and compelling, emotionally investing storytelling. Throughout the course of the show, we have grown more and more engrossed by Din Djarin’s and Grogu’s infectious relationship, which catapulted the show to its success, and we can’t wait to see what season three has to offer.
SEE ALSO: The Mandalorian: Who Saved Grogu from Order 66?
How would you rank Lucasfilm’s Disney+ Original Star Wars shows? Let us know your thoughts on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Olly Dyche
