Star Wars has permeated every facet of culture. One of the places it has really found a strong foothold is in LEGO. There are hundreds of Star Wars LEGO sets out there and more are released every year. However, the sets are just a small part of the LEGO Star Wars empire.

In recent years, LEGO has expanded their Star Wars content from just physical bricks to bricks on a screen. Since the Disney acquisition, LEGO Star Wars has seen new video game releases and even some television specials on Disney Plus.

How did this unlikely hit grow to such a widely beloved franchise within a franchise? Where did it start and where is it today? Here is the history for LEGO Star Wars media.

(2005) Video Game | LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game

Platforms: PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, Game Boy Advance, Windows PC, Mac OS X

The LEGO Star Wars series is arguably the most popular set of Star Wars video games out there. They were easily accessible games for all ages and almost all platforms. The one that started it all was LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game. This was not only the first game in the series, but it is also the first licensed LEGO game for home consoles. It was hugely popular, being the thirteenth best-selling game of 2005. This game only covers Star Wars Episodes I, II, and III: The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith.

The game’s storyline is essentially a retelling of the films using the LEGO signature brand of humor. The characters in the game don’t actually talk, but mumble and gesture to convey the plot. This relies on a lot of physical gags and safe humor to make it entertaining. This is a staple for all LEGO games, at least until more recent releases. Players use a wide array of characters to find Gold Bricks and LEGO studs scattered throughout each level in order to unlock bonuses and characters. Most of the games can be played with two players as this was intended to be a family game series. It’s a fun way for young gamers to be introduced to the saga.

Since it is a family friendly series, the games are released on a vast amount of platforms. Most of the time, the ports were the same. However, when porting a 3D game to a 2D platform like the Game Boy Advance, this can lead to developers essentially creating a completely different game. Instead of an exploration-based collect-a-thon, they are more isometric button mashers which is a completely different vibe for the games. However, due to the popularity of the Game Boy Advance, this became one of the better selling versions of the game, selling over 500,000 copies.

(2005) Short Movie | LEGO Star Wars: Revenge of the Brick

Platforms: Cartoon Network

Hot off the success of LEGO Star Wars, LEGO and Cartoon Network teamed up to create a five minute short film. It premiered on May 8th, 2005 on Cartoon Network. It was also downloadable on the LEGO website as a QuickTime film.

The Plot | LEGO Star Wars: Revenge of the Brick

This is essentially a humorous retelling of the important parts of Revenge of the Sith, at least before Anakin falls to the Dark Side. Anakin and Obi-Wan are attempting to blow up a Trade Federation Droid control ship above the Wookie homeworld, Kashyyyk. Throughout the short, the different characters take apart their aircraft and rebuild it as necessary for the situation. It’s all played for laughs and a little silly.

After they blow up the ship, the film shifts to the ground battle on Kashyyyk. Yoda is tearing up droids left and right, but the onslaught proves too much for the diminutive Jedi. Mace Windu and Chewbacca also help but they can’t stem the tide either. Anakin and Obi-Wan join the crew as well. Eventually, a Wookie transport ship comes to bring reinforcements, forcing the droids to run away. They all celebrate in a cantina after. Chewie takes a picture of Obi-Wan and Anakin. The picture comes out of the camera and shows… DARTH VADER AND OBI-WAN DUELING? Chewbacca faints. Roll credits.

It’s truly an odd piece of Star Wars history. There is no spoken dialogue, the animation is downright terrifying at times, and it is non-canon. However, there is an undeniable charm to it all. This was before the era of YouTube and other short-form media took over the internet video landscape so this was something groundbreaking for the time.

(2006) Video Game | LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy

Platforms: PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, Xbox 360, PSP, GBA, Nintendo DS, Windows PC, Mac OS X

If gamers wanted to hop in an X-Wing play through their favorite moments of the Original Star Wars Trilogy, they would have to wait for LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy in 2006. This was released to coincide with the release of the unaltered DVD versions of the original movies. This game, obviously, retells the stories of the Original Trilogy: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. Each film has several different levels that are either played on foot or in a vehicle.

Some additions to the game include character customization and a new game engine that was built off of the original, but offered several improvements. Most importantly to players, the camera was updated, making traversing levels much easier. The developers also included a wireless mode for players from all over to join in and play together.

With the popularity of LEGO Star Wars, it was hard to call it quits after these two games. This led to many different ports across all sorts of consoles. There was even an ancient mobile phone port that only covered the events of A New Hope. This game was everywhere. With all versions combined, this was the third best-selling game of 2006. It was a highly praised and well reviewed sequel, something that rarely happens in media.

(2007) Video Game | LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga

Platforms: PS2, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, Windows PC, Mac OS X, iOS, Android

In 2007, both games were combined into LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga. This is pretty much just a remastered version of the first two games. It added two levels that were cut out, as well as updated the original LEGO Star Wars to add gameplay elements that were invented in LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. The game was made mainly so that LEGO Star Wars would have a presence on seventh-generation platforms.

There were also a few extra levels added, updated graphics, and, of course, new characters. One of the main draws to LEGO games is being able to play as your favorite Star Wars character, no matter how obscure they may be. This game also introduced Bounty Hunter missions where players would capture Old Republic and Rebellion leaders for Jabba the Hutt.

It was another colossal hit. It was the best-selling LEGO video game until LEGO Marvel Super Heroes came out in 2017. It was such a juggernaut that it was still being ported to new platforms as late as 2015 with the release of an Android version.

(2009) Short Movie | LEGO Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2

Platforms: Cartoon Network

Cartoon Network and LEGO teamed up again in 2009 for another five minute short film, LEGO Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2. This was made to celebrate the ten year anniversary of LEGO acquiring the Star Wars license. It premiered August 28, 2009 on Cartoon Network. Like before, it was available to download from the LEGO website and also on the LEGO Club YouTube channel.

The Plot | LEGO Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2

The short opens with narration similar to how each episode of The Clone Wars opens. R2-D2 has stolen a very important secret from the Separatists. As they are pursued, R2-D2 is accidentally jettisoned into deep space. The Jedi Council sends Anakin and Ahsoka to find R2-D2 and retrieve the secret. R2-D2 lands on a desert planet where he strolls around until he finds an oasis where Jawas stun him and kidnap him. At the Jawa’s sandcrawler, General Grievous sees R2-D2 and steals him and R2-D2 in response sends a distress call. Meanwhile, Anakin and Ahsoka fly around space and the Clone Troopers battle droids on an ice planet.

Anakin and Ahsoka get the distress call, and burst into Grievous’ base, eventually running into Count Dooku, Grievous, and Asajj Ventress. Before they can battle, Yoda pulls the floor out from under the villains which sends them into space (without proper protection so they presumably die in the vacuum of space). R2-D2 shows the assembled party his secret. It was a hologram of the new amusement park: Skywalker World! He gives everyone VIP passes and they all have a blast.

This was significantly better quality than the first short they made about LEGO Star Wars. The animation actually looked like LEGO characters instead of the weird amorphous blobs that they were in the previous short movie. This is where LEGO starts to find their footing with their non-video game Star Wars content.

(2010 - Present) Web Shorts | LEGO Star Wars YouTube Shorts

Platforms: YouTube

With the explosion of YouTube in the late 2000s and early 2010s, LEGO Star Wars started releasing tons of content on their LEGO YouTube channel. By tons, we mean that there is a playlist on the LEGO channel with over 200 short Star Wars related videos. Obviously, we won’t dive deep into all of them, but here is a brief overview of one of them, Bombad Bounty.

The first one was Bombad Bounty which was posted on November 4, 2010. This was a retelling of the major moments of the Original Trilogy but it features Jar Jar Binks as the instigator for most of those events. Darth Vader hires Boba Fett to capture Jar Jar after he accidentally causes him to slip and fall from a wet floor. Boba Fett chases Jar Jar through the events of each movie, resulting in Jar Jar being the cause of the destruction of the Death Star and Boba Fett getting eaten by the Sarlacc. If only this was canon…

When Disney acquired Star Wars, they ramped up production on LEGO media, inclkuding several Rebels related shorts. They also released recaps of each of the movies in LEGO form; most of the newer ones are holiday related. There are a series of shorts that led to the release of The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special, which are all about Christmas in the Star Wars universe. With the success of the Holiday Special, LEGO then released several Halloween themed shorts. Ultimately, these are fun little shorts that are not canon, but definitely have that LEGO charm to them.

(2011) Video Game | LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars

Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, PSP,  Windows PC, Mac OS X

The final numbered LEGO Star Wars game was released in 2011 with LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars. This game focuses on The Clone Wars movie and several episodes from the first two seasons of the show.

A few updates were made to the game engine, but there were two new things that made this game really unique. The first was “Scene Swap” where players can switch between two different groups in order to complete multi-faceted objectives on the battlefield. The other is the introduction of Real-Time Strategy elements. As this was about The Clone Wars, there are massive battles with many troops to organize and send off to fight. It was an interesting addition to the series that fit the theme of the game really well.

This game received middling reviews. Nothing too critical, but most critics did not rate the game higher than an 8. A lot of the issues stem from the repetitive nature of the missions. The handheld versions were also quite different from the console games, so that led to some additional less than favorable reviews.

(2011) Short Movie | LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace

Platforms: Cartoon Network

Cartoon Network and LEGO worked together on another short film in 2011; LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace would be a full half hour special. This short movie initially premiered on Cartoon Network on July 22, 2011, and also was the first LEGO Star Wars film to be released on physical media. The Blu-Ray and DVD versions of LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace released on September 16 of 2011.

The Plot | LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace

In this special, as the name suggests, focuses on the padawans. C-3P0 has to give a tour of the Galactic Senate building to a group of Jedi padawans after Yoda had to leave for a special mission. Asajj Ventress is also on Coruscant having stolen the secret battle plans with the intention of giving them to Palpatine. During the tour, a kid named Ian starts messing around, leading to the group being accidentally sent to Tatooine. Afterwards, Ian and Yoda fly to Hoth to get the plans, which they find inside a Tauntaun. The Tatooine gang are captured by Jabba the Hutt and are eventually saved by Ian and Yoda. Back on Coruscant, everyone receives praise and, it turns out, Ian was actually Han Solo! The “H” on his nametag was turned sideways.

Also, Jar Jar Binks gets blown up in this one, so it’s definitely worth the watch for that alone. There are also some funny moments where the 4th wall is broken, and Darth Vader just shows up and starts messing with the actual “filming” of the special. Then George Lucas comes out to usher him offscreen. Genuinely hilarious!

(2012) Short Movie | LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out 

Platforms: Cartoon Network

Cartoon Network had one last LEGO Star Wars TV special in them and that was LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out. It was aired on September 16, 2012 and released on DVD on March 26, 2013.

The Plot | LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out

Right after the destruction of the Death Star, the rebels leave their base on Yavin 4 to go to their secret base on Hoth. The main gang travels to Naboo to gather Gungan warriors and destroy a stormtrooper base. In their haste to leave, they leave behind Chewbacca, C-3P0, and the Millennium Falcon on Yavin 4. Meanwhile, Palpatine plans to rebuild the Death Star with the help of Darth Vader and Darth Maul. Vader is sent to find Luke and Palpatine leaves Maul in charge of building the station.

This special does a lot of fanservice, which seems appropriate considering this was released a month before Disney acquired Lucasfilms. It’s almost like they knew this would be the last one before the merger, so they put in all the references to the series as they could.

(2013 / 2014) TV Mini-Series | LEGO Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles

Platforms: Cartoon Network, Disney XD

Yoda is one of the more mysterious characters in Star Wars. He is one of three known members of his race and we don’t even know what their species is called. This powerful Jedi gets to take a leading role in LEGO Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles (It’s also called The New Yoda Chronicles). This was a miniseries that was originally released on Cartoon Network on May 29, 2013. Lucasfilm gave the LEGO group free reign with the series, allowing them to be more creative with plotlines and their animation.

The Plot | LEGO Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles

The three episode long first season is set during the Prequel era. Yoda and a fresh band of Padawans set out to stop Darth Sidious from building a superweapon to destroy the Republic once and for all. The second season was longer with four episodes and was set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. Luke ventures to find the Jedi holocrons at Obi-Wan’s urging.

This is an interesting series because season one and two were separated by the Disney merger. Cartoon Network owned the rights to the name LEGO Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles. Disney wanted to show it on Disney XD, so they dropped “LEGO” and added “New”, resulting in Star Wars: The New Yoda Chronicles. The merger also resulted in a few of the episodes never getting a home release.

(2015) TV Mini-Series | LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales 

Platforms: Disney XD

Droid Tales is a short, five-episode miniseries that tells tales of droids. Well, maybe a bit more than that. Originally premiering on Disney XD on July 5, 2015, each episode tells the story of a different Star Wars movie through the eyes of C-3P0 and R2-D2. The droids also run into various characters from other Star Wars TV shows including Rebels and Clone Wars. It’s highly regarded in the fandom as one of the better LEGO Star Wars series.

(2016) Video Game | LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Platforms: PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, Windows PC, Mac OS X, iOS, Android

After a five year hiatus, LEGO Star Wars was back with LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This was, notably, the first LEGO game after the Disney acquisition. It retells the story of The Force Awakens, obviously. It also adds in some content from between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens which was a big blindspot in canon at the time of release. Most of the stuff that is covered within the game is non-canon, however, it adds some depth to the characters you can only get from playing the games. There is also DLC that explains why C-3P0 has a red arm in this movie. (In reality, it’s to sell more toys, but there is a canonical reason as well)

One addition to the game that received mixed feelings was the addition of voice acting. All of the leads from the movie reprise their roles for the game which is, honestly, pretty rare for a video game tie-in. However, part of the charm of LEGO games was the distinct mumbles and grunts that served as dialogue for the characters.

This was a big return to form for LEGO Star Wars. It received very good reviews from many different websites and publications. Although the base part of the game is the same as others, the additional content exclusive to this one made it one of the better LEGO games out there. It was the top selling game in the UK for five weeks straight, the second LEGO game to do this.

Fun fact: The cutscenes from this game were repurposed from the Disney XD miniseries The Resistance Rises. Since the series was a collection of shorts totalling less than half an hour, it didn’t really need its own section.

(2016 / 2017) TV Series | LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures 

Platforms: Disney XD

So far, the only multi-season series that LEGO and Star Wars produced was LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures. It was two seasons long, premiering on June 20, 2016 and ending on August 16, 2017.

The Plot | LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures

The Freemaker Adventures centers on the Freemakers, a family of scavengers who sell starships they built from the debris they find floating in space. Rowan, the youngest member of the family, finds an ancient Force artifact called the Kyber Saber. They are then thrust into the galaxy to help bring peace and order against the Sith, the Hutts, and bounty hunters.

This series is a tonal shift from most LEGO Star Wars properties. The production team wanted this to be both humorous and dramatic as well. As much as humor was a part of the LEGO brand, they wanted there to actually be stakes in this series. The drama helped it score four Emmy nominations in 2017: Best Children’s Animated Program, Best Casting for an Animated Series or Special, Best Animation Sound Editing, and Best Music Direction and Composition.

(2018) TV Mini-Series | LEGO Star Wars: All-Stars -

Platforms: Disney XD

LEGO Star Wars: All-Stars is a miniseries that doesn’t really have an overarching plot. It’s essentially a story of the week show where each episode focuses on a different person or duo. This came out in November of 2018, around the same time Solo: A Star Wars Story was released in theaters, so a few of the stories feature Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo. It’s one of the few pieces of Star Wars media that features Alden Ehrenreich instead of Harrison Ford.

(2020) Short Movie | The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special

Platforms: Disney+

Back in 1978, there was very little in terms of Star Wars content. In fact, there was only one movie and a handful of ancillary material out at that time. This led to the production and release of the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special, a variety show that featured songs, skits, and the first appearance of Boba Fett. It was also very, very bad. The best thing to come out of the special is Life Day, the Star Wars version of Christmas. As of the time of writing, there is no official release of the Holiday Special and there never has been.

The Plot | The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special

So, on the 42nd anniversary of the special, Disney released The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special on Disney+. It’s an homage/satire of the original special, but this one focuses on the Sequel Trilogy characters. In it, Rey is upset that she is not able to train Finn as well as she would like, so she goes in search of a key that will speed up progress. There is a lot of time travel and planet hopping as Rey goes into the past to meet previous Jedi masters. Eventually, she runs into Darth Vader and they duel. The duel finishes on Tatooine where Rey meets Luke and Vader steals the key.

Kylo Ren meets Palpatine and tells him how Vader will kill him in the future. Palpatine gets ahold of the key from Vader. Palpatine and Ren travel back in time with Ren to prevent the Emperor’s death. He promises Ren that he will be his new apprentice after Vader is killed. Luke and Rey end up on the Death Star with them. They all duel, leading to Luke and Rey’s victory. Rey takes everyone back to their own times and heads back to Kashyyyk where Poe has been setting up a Life Day party for Chewbacca and his family and friends.

This short movie has quippy jokes, nothing is too serious, and it is just a fun, family-friendly holiday movie. It was met with okay reviews from critics. However, it is definitely better than the original Holiday Special.

(2021) Short Movie | LEGO Star Wars: Terrifying Tales

Platforms: Disney+

Hot off the success of The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special, Disney and LEGO teamed up again to release another holiday themed short movie. LEGO Star Wars: Terrifying Tales is a spooky film that was released on October 1, 2021 to capitalize on the Halloween season. This one, unlike The Holiday Special, was a series of vignettes with a story tying them all together throughout.

The Plot | LEGO Star Wars: Terrifying Tales

Poe Dameron and BB-8 crash land on Mustafar, the planet where Darth Vader’s castle once stood. They end up at the castle and find Graballa the Hutt is there to rebuild it into a Sith-themed hotel. While there, he meets Dean, a young mechanic who wants to help Poe get off Mustafar. However, Darth Vader’s old servant, Vanee refuses to let them leave until they help him find something. Vanee tells everyone three stories that all relate to what is happening in the main plot.

The stories are fun. The first is “The Lost Boy”, a parody of the movie The Lost Boys, about how Ben Solo first met the Knights of Ren. The second is “The Dueling Monstrosities”. In this story, Palpatine pits a resurrected Darth Maul against General Grievous to find the Saber of Scardont, a saber that will drive any wielder to madness. The final story is called “The Wookie’s Paw” and is a parody of the W.W. Jacob’s story “The Monkey’s Paw”. Luke is given a Wookie’s Paw that will grant him three wishes, but each wish ends with horrible consequences. It also retells the story of A New Hope, but if Luke joined the Empire instead.

Overall, it’s a spooky little special. There are a few creepy moments in it, but it is definitely geared towards the elementary school demographic.

(2022) Video Game | LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, Windows PC

The most recent game was LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. You can play through all nine films as well as purchase DLC which added new levels and new playable minifigure characters from Rogue One, Rebels, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Mandalorian, and Andor. This was a highly anticipated release within the fandom and for gaming at large. The Skywalker Saga was repeatedly delayed during production, initially revealed to be a 2020 release to coincide with the release of The Rise of Skywalker movie, but ultimately releasing in 2022.

The delays for The Skywalker Saga resulted in a game with a bunch of new features. Instead of playing through the storylines in a linear path, players can choose which trilogy they will start the game on. Along with that, the hub worlds are fully explorable planets with lots of hidden treasures. Most importantly, “Mumble Mode” was added. So, instead of voice acting, players can choose to have the characters do the signature mumble and grunts of classic LEGO games for the dialogue.

More than just a simple remaster, The Skywalker Saga gave longtime LEGO Star Wars fans what they truly wanted. A game that gives you the humor of LEGO while still feeling huge and epic like a Star Wars saga should. And the critics agreed. Most of the reviews were incredibly positive, with very few critics rating it below a 7/10 (or equivalent).

(2022) Short Movie | LEGO Star Wars: Summer Vacation

Platforms: Disney+

The most recent Disney+ LEGO Star Wars release was LEGO Star Wars: Summer Vacation which premiered on August 5, 2022. Not only was this short a LEGO tie-in, it was also part of the massive multi-media tie-in for Disney Parks’ new attraction: Galactic Starcruiser, the ill-fated Star Wars hotel that cost way too much money.

The Plot | LEGO Star Wars: Summer Vacation

Much like LEGO Star Wars: Terrifying Tales, this is a series of vignettes tied together to teach a moral lesson at the end of the special. This special focuses on Finn who has arranged a surprise vacation for his friends on the Halcyon. Finn is left alone after all of his friends run off to do their own fun vacation activities. He’s upset because he feels like this will be the last time they will all get to be together. As he sits alone, the ghost of Obi-Wan tells him a story about Jabba the Hutt’s birthday party. He advises Finn to have fun in the moment.

As he goes, Rose accidentally shoves him in a transport to the planet Scarif. While he’s there, the ghost of Anakin Skywalker appears and tells him about a vacation he took with Emperor Palpatine. When he gets back to the ship, Leia tells him about a the last vacation she took with Han and Ben before he turned to the Dark Side.

Each story is a sweet reminder to be in the moment and remember all the good things that have happened instead of mourning the loss of the past. Honestly, if this was the last LEGO Star Wars movie, it would be a good way to cap off the series.

Final Thoughts & Conclusion for the Timeline & History of LEGO Star Wars Media

The LEGO Star Wars multi-media empire is huge. It is far reaching and covers a lot of stuff that wasn’t even covered in this article. There are also books and, of course, the sets themselves. As far as games and other visual media, LEGO Star Wars provides fans with a sense of fun and play that other parts of the franchise just can’t do. LEGO lets you actually become a part of the story. You are the builder, you are the one who makes the decisions, you get to tell your own version of the movies or make up your own!

LEGO Star Wars movies and shows, unfortunately, are moving away from what make the games and early shorts so charming. Everything is already built. It’s static. Every object is permanent. The fun of the LEGO series is how creativity can shine through and change the story in the blink of an eye. Anything is possible with LEGO! Hopefully, if more LEGO Star Wars projects come out in the future, they can get back to their original roots.