Star Wars: Take A Look At Disney’s Official New Timeline
Let’s look at the new canon timeline for Star Wars.
The recent kick-off of the High Republic has taken Star Wars storytelling into a brand new era, filled with noble Jedi and high adventure. But just, one might ask, is an era of Star Wars? In the past this didn’t have a real solid definition, people tended to speak in terms of the Prequel or Sequel Era. While the first movies get called the Original Trilogy (OT) and sometimes the Galactic Civil War Era. Now Lucasfilm has given us an official breakdown of the era, with a handy timeline:
As you can see we know have six official eras. These span the entire canon timeline, and are marked with major movies or shows that have taken place in them. Let’s dig in a bit more and see what each has to offer.
The High Republic
The newest of the Star Wars eras, this era shows the Republic, and the Jedi, at one of their heights, before the decline and fall. It takes place roughly 300 years before the Prequels, or between around 300 BBY to around 82 BBY (BBY meaning Before The Battle Of Yavin and the destruction of the First Death Star in A New Hope). Currently, the stories of this era are told only in books and comics, but that is going to change.
Fall of the Jedi 
This Era encapsulates what used to be known as the Prequel Era. It focuses on the decline of the Republic, the Clone Wars, and the eventual fall of the Jedi order. Currently, it is the second most covered, in film and TV era, and the most covered if you count pure runtime. The Era Ends in 19 BBY with the end of the Republic and creation of the Galactic Empire. We don’t know the exact date it starts but can assume it begins when the High Republic ends.
Reign of the Empire
This Era begins with the Creation of the Empire in 19 BBY and ends with the start of Star Wars: Rebels and the meeting between Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger in 5 BBY. Only one movie, Solo: A Star Wars Story, is set during this period. In addition, the upcoming Bad Batch animated TV show is going to be set during this period as well. While this period hasn’t been well covered in movies or TV it is heavily covered in comics, books, and games.
Age of Rebellion 
This era, is the core of original Star Wars, and to many the most popular era. It covers the epic conflict between between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance, culminating in the fall of the Empire and the restoration of the Jedi Order. With 4 movies and a show set in the period, and more coming, it’s the most extensively covered era of Star Wars. There are also a huge number of books, comics, and games set in the era. This era begins in 5 BBY with the rise of the Rebellion. It ends in 4 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin) with the death of the Emperor, but some might argue that 5 ABY and the Battle of Jakku, followed by the Galactic Concordance.
The New Republic 
Lastly between 5 ABY – 34 ABY this era covers the relatively peaceful time after the end of the Galactic Civil War. So far the only major piece of media in this era is The Mandalorian TV show. There have been a couple of books set in the era, but it is mostly an unexplored period. A lot of new shows are going to be set here, so we should see more out of it.
Rise of The First Order
This period, also known as the Sequel Era, covers the rise of the Frist Order and the Resistance, as well as the returned Emperor’s attempt at Galactic Conquest. It covers the 3 prequel movies as well as the show Resistance. According to the Wookieepedia this era lasts from 34 ABY to 35 ABY and is by far the shortest of the eras. However the show Resistance begins in 33 ABY, and it might be fair to say that is a plausible start date for the era, with other, earlier dates being suggested. Regardless outside of movies/shows this is one of the less covered eras and seems like it might remain that way. Almost nothing is known about what takes place after the end of this Era.
Bonus: The Old Republic
Mainly covered in the games: Knights of the Old Republic, Knights of the Old Republic 2, and The Old Republic, this era, starting in roughly 4000 BBY and lasting for a few hundred years, occupies a weird zone. This highly popular era is not technically canon, as most things covering it came out prior to the Disney reset. However the ongoing MMO the Old Republic has continued to tell new stories up to the present, and these exist in a grey area. The Old Republic takes place so far in the past that it generally has no effect on the 6 Canon Eras and so its status as canon or not, doesn’t matter much. It’s a weird one.
Let us know what you think of the new timeline, down in the comments!
