Summary

• The timeline of Star Wars: The Clone Wars is primarily set between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, with some episodes taking place outside of these parameters.
• The timeline in Star Wars is measured around the Battle of Yavin, with events before labeled as BBY and events after labeled as ABY.
• Understanding The Clone Wars' timeline is easiest using the parameters of BBY and ABY, with specific episodes and story arcs taking place in different years.

The timeline of Star Wars: The Clone Wars is primarily set between Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. That said, some episodes have been released that take place outside of these basic parameters. In Star Wars, the timeline is measured around the Battle of Yavin, the major conflict seen in A New Hope given the story is the first Star Wars movie in release order. Everything that happened before this is labeled as BBY - Before the Battle of Yavin - and everything subsequently is ABY - After the Battle of Yavin.

Attack of the Clones is set in 22 BBY, while Revenge of the Sith takes place in 19 BBY. While upcoming Star Wars movies may change the timeline markings depending on how far ahead or behind the Skywalker Saga they go, understanding The Clone Wars’ timeline is easiest using these parameters. Concerning The Clone Wars, the show takes place leading up to — and even beyond – Revenge of the Sith in 19 BBY as the Star Wars TV show makes abundantly clear.

22 BBY - The Clone Wars Seasons 1, 2, and 3

There is an undisclosed amount of time that transpires between Attack of the Clones and The Clone Wars, which probably amounts to a month or two – just enough time for both Anakin and Obi-Wan to get their Jedi promotions and clone squadrons. The Clone Wars starts, chronologically, with the episodes “Cat and Mouse” (episode number 216) and “Hidden Enemy” (116), and then progresses to the pilot movie which was released theatrically. This story arc not only depicts the Battle of Christophsis but also introduces viewers – and Anakin Skywalker – to Padawan Ahsoka Tano.

Obi-Wan and Anakin also had time to meet Dooku's Sith apprentice Asajj Ventress between the events of Attack of the Clones and The Clone Wars' first episode.

There are 16 more episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars that take place in the year 22 BBY. These episodes cover events such as the Galactic Republic convincing Toydaria to side with it over the Confederacy of Independent Systems, General Grevious’ deployment of an experimental warship equipped with ion canons, and the capture of Dooku, Kenobi, and Skywalker by a charmingly unscrupulous pirate, Hondo Ohnaka. Also, Jar Jar Binks gets mistaken by Separatist forces as a Jedi Knight in one of the worst-rated episodes of the entire series.

The final installment set in the same year that Attack of the Clones occurs - 22 BBY - is “Trespass.” This standalone chapter tells an isolated story from the titular Clone Wars though it is nonetheless thematically related. The episode involves the Jedi having to help mediate a brewing war between the Pantorans and the newly discovered “primitive” tribe of the Talz.

21 BBY - The Clone Wars Seasons 1, 2, and 3

The first full calendar year of the Clone Wars finishes up the back half of the first season, covers the remainder of the second, and ends roughly halfway through the third given the episodes aired out of chronological order. In terms of plot, that means 21 BBY starts with “Blue Shadow Virus” (117). In this episode, a Confederate-backed scientist secretly attempts to weaponize a long-thought-extinct plague on the peaceful planet of Naboo.

Further episodes in 21 BBY go on to encompass the liberation of Ryloth and the reawakening of the massive Zillo Beast on Malastare. Furthermore, the second Battle of Geonosis and the reappearance of young Boba Fett now under the tutelage of Aura Sing. Boba Fett’s return showcases the bounty hunter seeking his revenge against Jedi Master Mace Windu for the murder of his father, Jango Fest.

Also introduced is the splinter terrorist group of Death Watch which has secretly allied with the Separatists to overthrow Satine and her government.

However, the biggest and most consequential storyline of 21 BBY is the introduction of Mandalore into galactic proceedings for the first time in over a millennium. In this first three-part narrative, audiences get to meet sister Duchess Satine Kryze, the former would-be flame of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Also introduced is the splinter terrorist group of Death Watch which has secretly allied with the Separatists to overthrow Satine and her government. 21 BBY ends with “Senate Murders” (215), the episode that sees Senators Padme Amidala and Bail Organa investigating a string of murders within the Congress of the Galactic Republic.

20 BBY - The Clone Wars Seasons 3, 4, and 5

20 BBY starts with Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ biggest storyline yet: Darth Tyranus’s attempted murder of his protégé, Asajj Ventress. Ventress then retaliates by involving her newly reacquainted Nightsisters. This storyline formally introduces the Force cabal into the Star Wars mythos, and it also ends with the dramatic revelation that Darth Maul is still alive somewhere out in the galaxy.

20 BBY then goes on to deliver the fate of the Chosen One through the mysterious Mortis arc and sees a Jedi-led assault on the impenetrable fortress of the Citadel wherein Master Skywalker and Captain Wilhuff Tarkin meet for the very first time. 20 BBY also gives viewers their first chronological introduction to both Chewbacca when he and Ahsoka are abducted by Trandoshan hunters and Captain Gial Ackbar who fights with the Republic to stave off a Confederate-backed attempt to start a civil war.

The Mortis arc tied directly into the events of Ahsoka season 1, making season 3 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars much more consequential.

20 BBY also houses the first Separatist plot to kidnap Sheev Palpatine and shows how the fallen Maul is brought back to mental and physical shape by his brother, Savage Opress, and his mother, Talzin. Meanwhile, on Onderon, Anakin teaches Saw Gerrera how to fight an insurgent war - the beginnings of one of the most beloved Rebel Alliance characters in The Clone Wars’ timeline. Ultimately, 45 episodes of The Clone Wars take place in 20 BBY: “Nightsisters” (312) to “Point of No Return” (513).

19 BBY - The Clone Wars Seasons 5, 6, and 7

In Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ timeline, the year that ultimately includes Revenge of the Sith is 19 BBY. The vast majority of the story arcs during this year take place before the final Star Wars prequel movie, though the last four episodes occur simultaneously with and after the film. This decision better contextualizes Revenge of the Sith while also allowing for closure regarding The Clone Wars’ beloved characters.

30 installments of Star Wars: The Clone Wars begin 19 BBY and build inexorably to Revenge of the Sith, spanning “Revival” (501) to “Old Friends Not Forgotten” (709). This begins with Darth Maul's decision to formally take on an apprentice in the form of his brother in an attempt to undermine Darth Sidious. He assembles the Shadow Collective which is built around Mandalore’s Death Watch until he is defeated by Lord Sidious himself and imprisoned in a secret Separatist prison.

The Jedi Council realizes that the true identity of the mysterious man named Tyranus is really Count Dooku and that he and his Sith master have been plotting the entire Clone Wars from the very beginning.

Later in 19 BBY, the Padawan Ahsoka Tano leaves the Jedi Order behind while a clone trooper named Fives discovers the hidden presence of inhibitor chips in the clones’ brains. These chips have already been programmed with Order 66 yet Fives is unable to unmask Palpatine’s plan before he is killed. In the same year, the Jedi Council realizes that the true identity of the mysterious man named Tyranus is really Count Dooku and that he and his Sith master have been plotting the entire Clone Wars from the very beginning.

This revelation eventually leads to another consequential arc in 19 BBY. This arc involves Yoda embarking on a Force-sensitive quest that allows a far deeper, more consequential understanding of the world around him. This quest ensures the ultimate preservation of the Order throughout the entire Star Wars saga as Yoda discovers how to retain his consciousness after dying, a lesson partially instructed to him via the spiritual remnants of Qui-Gon Jinn.

In the last four episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 7, viewers get the chance to see Revenge of the Sith from Ahsoka's perspective. The young Padawan, despite not formerly being a member of the Jedi Order anymore, leads the liberation of Mandalore from Darth Maul's tyrannical grasp. By the end, both of the former apprentices manage to escape the death of the Old Republic and the birth of the Galactic Empire to fight another day.

19 BBY to 18 BBY - Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 1

Star Wars: The Bad Batch is considered the spiritual successor to The Clone Wars. The show begins with Clone Force 99 - a Republic commando squad of mutant clones - failing to obey Order 66 due to malfunctions with their inhibitor chips. Taking place over a year between 19 BBY and 18BBY, The Bad Batch ends with the Empire destroying the planet of Kamino — along with its main cloning facilities — in a failed effort to exterminate Clone Force 99.

18 BBY Onwards - Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 2

The Clone Wars’ timeline is further expanded by The Bad Batch season 2. Following the Imperial Strike at Kamino, The Bad Batch season 2 continues the story of Clone Force 99. In 18 BBY, viewers are introduced to the pirate Phee Genoa who takes a keen interest in Clone Force 99's genetic mutations. Most curiously, The Bad Batch season 2 has hinted that former Clone Force 99 trooper Crosshair could betray the Empire. Currently, it is unknown how many years The Bad Batch season 2 will cover due to the cliffhanger ending that leads into The Bad Batch season 3.

Why Working Out The Clone Wars Timeline Is So Difficult

The primary reason why figuring out Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ timeline is so difficult is that the show frustratingly aired in non-chronological order. However, now that the series has completed its run on Disney+, it is possible to sort everything out within the larger timeline of a galaxy far, far away. The writers behind Star Wars: The Clone Wars were in a special position to flesh out yet-unknown events in the franchise’s timeline which is essentially the root of the confusion regarding the show’s viewing order.

What has proven to be so surprisingly hard since the show aired, however, is discerning when these years pass within the context of the story. As the series already starts with Anakin Skywalker being a Jedi Knight and Obi-Wan Kenobi being a Jedi Master, it is difficult to get a natural sense of the passing of time. It does not help that the chronology was originally kept opaque because the creators behind the production did not know how long The Clone Wars would be on the air.

Since Disney purchased Lucasfilm, took stewardship of everything Star Wars, and brought about the end of the franchise’s very first television show, the company has also been able to look back and retroactively assign a date to every episode. The correct watch order of The Clone Wars was added to StarWars.com in 2014. Now, it is easy to discern when each episode of the beloved Star Wars: The Clone Wars takes place, as well as its spin-off, Star Wars: The Bad Batch.