8 Star Wars Questions That Always Confused You

5. Why Did The Empire Phase Out The Clones?

Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order Purge Trooper
EA

During the prequels, the clone troopers were introduced as the elite of the elite, modelled on the genetic template of one of the most feared bounty hunters in the galaxy, Jango Fett. They were superior to battle droids, trained by the finest military minds and mercenaries, and would obey the Emperor's every whim once the chip that contained Order 66 was activated. So, why were they phased out and replaced with humans shortly after the conclusion of the Clone Wars?

Clone troopers served as the first of the Empire's stormtroopers for a good few years following the Clone Wars, and were even recruited to assist Darth Vader's Inquisitors as they hunted down survivors of the Jedi Purge, utilising their familiar DC-15 heavy blasters in combat.

However, due in part to the accelerated ageing process that provided the Republic and then Empire with a regular supply of soldiers, it was soon decided that the clones should be phased out, with many ageing more rapidly than regular human cadets. The Empire also shutdown the cloning operation on Kamino, and by the time of the Original Trilogy, only a small number of clones remained in active service.

Because the Imperials were no longer incurring mass casualties, it made no sense to continue developing clones. (There's also the chance Palpatine wanted to tie-off a loose end in the Order 66 conspiracy, and that would've provided the perfect excuse.) Even so, the Empire continued to use the clones' service during the Republic era as propaganda to recruit human soldiers, even as some troopers began to question their actions during the Jedi Purge.

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WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.