Is Star Wars Resistance Canon?

When fans discuss animated Star Wars shows, it's unlikely that Star Wars: Resistance will come up in conversation. But this has nothing to do with the fact it's an animated series - after all, such shows are becoming commonplace in the faraway galaxy. Not only are we getting The Bad Batch Season 2, but the anime anthology series Star Wars: Visions recently landed on Disney+, which creates new possibilities for the future of Star Wars. And how can we forget critically acclaimed shows like The Clone Wars and Rebels? Without them, we wouldn't have the likes of The Mandalorian or the upcoming Ahsoka.

So why is Star Wars: Resistance seldom discussed? Is it that bad? We think it's less to do with the quality of the show, and more to do with the fact that fans aren't sure whether it's canon or not. This isn't to suggest no one has seen it - but it's easy to see that it doesn't exactly rank high among animated Star Wars shows. In fact, fans are more likely to check out vintage Star Wars shows like Droids or Ewoks than they are Star Wars: Resistance! But perhaps we can encourage you to check it out. First, though, there is a bantha in the room that needs addressing: Is Star Wars: Resistance canon?

It's the first question fans ask about anything nowadays. While the show is hardly new, having premiered on the Disney Channel back in 2018 and finished just a year later, it's a question that keeps popping up. Perhaps fans are eager to know where they need to invest their time, now that there are so many things Star Wars on the horizon, whether they're new movies, live-action shows, animated shows, video games or graphic novels. So let's find out how Star Wars: Resistance fits into the wider Star Wars universe...

Where does Star Wars Resistance fit in the timeline?

Unlike every other animated show - and any live-action show, for that matter - Star Wars: Resistance runs parallel with the sequel trilogy, taking place shortly before and during. Another unique element of the show is its 3D animation. In many ways, it's consistent with The Clone Wars and Rebels, in that it has its own animation style, just like those shows do (although The Bad Batch has the same animation as The Clone Wars). The animation can take a lot of getting used to, more so than the two aforementioned shows. In fact, it's more comparable to a video game than an animated show, of the 'cel-shaded' kind.

Resistance follows Kaz, a New Republic pilot who is hired as a spy as the First Order rises to power in the lead up to the events of The Force Awakens. However, the rest of the series takes place during that film, The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. There are many other characters exclusive to the show, while more familiar faces include recurring roles from BB-8 and Poe Dameron, and cameos from C3-PO, Captain Phasma, General Hux, and Princess Leia, with Oscar Isaacs, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, and Domhnall Gleeson reprising their roles (actress Carolyn Hessey provides the voice of Leia).

In what order should I watch Star Wars Resistance?

While The Clone Wars is easily the very best of all things Star Wars, with the final four episodes even feeling like a movie in their own right, it's fair to say that the show has also caused plenty of confusion within the fanbase. In the order the show is listed on Disney+, which is the same order in which it was released onto television, the show is not chronologically laid out. The reason for this is that there are many 'trilogies' or 'quadrilogies' of episodes, and while it was airing, some of these episode 'sets' didn't show consecutively, with the show temporarily abandoning certain sets to start new ones.

As such, this means that The Clone Wars jumps back and forth within the three years it occupies between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. But don't worry - you can follow the show in the correct chronological order by following the official episode guide on StarWars.com. Fortunately, this isn't the case with Star Wars: Resistance, so it's all pretty straightforward. The show ran for two seasons, with a total of 40 episodes, and with 12 'shorts' (which you don't really need to watch).

Did Star Wars Resistance get canceled?

It might seem odd that Star Wars: Resistance has only two seasons when The Clone Wars ran for seven seasons, and Rebels for four. So why is Star Wars: Resistance so short? Despite popular belief, the show was not canceled, which means that the final season of the two-season show, was indeed intended to be the last one - and this is plain to see when you watch it all from start to finish (although we won't spoil it for you, as it is worth checking out, even if it does rank in the lower echelons of animated Star Wars shows - though not as quite as bad as Droids or Ewoks!).

But will Star Wars: Resistance have a Season 3? This is very unlikely, with the main reason for the show having finished in the first place being the fact it takes place during the events of the sequel trilogy. After all, once we reach The Rise of Skywalker, there's really nowhere for Star Wars to go, which explains why Star Wars: Resistance was so short-lived. It committed itself to orbit a very limited era along the Star Wars timeline, one that was always due to finish no sooner after it had started. But while there's no other canon material that takes place after the sequel trilogy, one of the episodes in Star Wars: Visions does.

Related: Is Star Wars: Visions Canon?

Is Star Wars Resistance canon?

The term 'canon' can be pretty flexible, especially where things such as graphic novels, books, and video games are concerned. But where Star Wars is concerned, its animated shows are absolutely canon. Since Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012, all pre-merger material was wiped from canon, with of course the exception of the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy, and The Clone Wars. Now, everything post-merger is canon - although we're still not sure whether Star Wars: Visions is canon or not.

Prior to its release, Disney and Lucasfilm suggested it wasn't, but now that we've seen it, it's easy to see how some episodes can fit along the established Star Wars timeline without causing too much interference with canon. As for Star Wars: Resistance, you'll be glad to know that it is completely canon - which is something definitely worth knowing if you're thinking about checking it out. Or perhaps you've already seen it, and despite it taking place before and during the sequel trilogy, you still weren't quite sure. Nevertheless, it's worth checking out, even if the animation takes a lot of getting used to.

So, Star Wars: Resistance might not be anywhere near as good as The Clone Wars or Rebels, but if you're a completionist who likes to digest all canon material, it's worth the viewing.