The Clone Wars will end soon. The seven-season animated series ended in a way similar to how Revenge of the Sith did, with the evil Emperor Palpatine taking over and telling all the Jedi to be killed. If you’ve seen the Prequel Trilogy, you know that Order 66 is the first step in the Jedi purge.
Palpatine sends Order 66 after Ahsoka Tano and Maul in “Shattered,” the second-to-last episode of The Clone Wars. What started out as a big win for Ahsoka on Mandalore has turned into a tragedy that will change her life completely.
So, what is Order 66, and how does it fit into the rest of the Star Wars story?
What is Order 66?
During the events of “Revenge of the Sith,” Darth Sidious sent Order 66 to all clone troopers. It said that all Jedi were traitors to the Galactic Republic. In “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” we saw that the order was put into the clones’ heads using chips. The clones didn’t know anything about the chips except for the one named Fives.
When he found out the truth, he tried to tell the other clones and kill Palpatine. However, everyone thought he was crazy and killed him. The clones were always loyal to the Republic and the Jedi and would never turn their backs on them. However, because of the chips, they could not resist Order 66 and ended up killing their friends.
Why Was Order 66 Created?
During the Clone Wars, the Sith wanted to wipe out the Jedi Order, which was their biggest enemy at the time. Order 66 was made so that Emperor Palpatine and the Sith could do this without being found out.
Order 66 helped Palpatine take more control of the Galactic Empire by getting rid of the Jedi and making the Clone Troopers do his bidding (with the exception of Clone Force 99, the “Bad Batch”). This ensured that he could control other political leaders through fear alone and that he had complete power over them.
What Exactly Happened During Order 66?
Order 66, or Clone Protocol 66, made all of the Clone Troopers in the galaxy turn against their Jedi Commanders and killed them. Sheev Palpatine killed the Order after a series of events showed that he was really Sith Lord Darth Sidious.
It’s important to know that this unfortunate clone protocol was started long before Palpatine said the famous words “Execute Order 66.”
How Order 66 Relates To Other Star Wars Universe Elements
Order 66 is such a big part of the Star Wars story that it is linked to almost every other piece of canon media. Here, we go into detail about where you need to look to learn the most about this sad event in space.
When Does Order 66 Occur In The Timeline Of Star Wars?
In 19 BBY, when the Clone Wars were over, Order 66 was given. From 22 BBY to 19 BBY, the Clone Wars were going on. For comparison, George Lucas’s first Star Wars movie, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, takes place in the year 0 BBY.
Which Star Wars Movies Show What Happened With Order 66?
In Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) successfully turns Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) to the dark side of the Force. This is the most important part of Order 66.
But besides this Star Wars prequel trilogy, many other parts of the Star Wars canon explain what happened with Order 66, including hints about what happened before the protocol was carried out.
A helpful list can be found below:
- Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (“Senate Murders,” Season 2, Episode 5)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Clone Protocol 66 Arc – “The Unknown,” Season 6, Episode 1; “Conspiracy,” Season 6, Episode 2; “Fugitive,” Season 6, Episode 3; “Orders,”Season 6, Episode 4)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars (The Yoda Arc – “The Lost One,” Season 6, Episode 10; “Voices,” Season 6 Episode 11; “Destiny,” Season 6, Episode 12; “Sacrifice,” Season 6, Episode 13)
- Marvel’s Kanan Volume 1 by Greg Weisman and Pepe Larraz
- Ahsoka by E.K. Johnston
- Star Wars Rebels (“The Lost Commanders,” Season 2, Episode 1; “Relics of the Old Republic,” Season 2, Episode 2)
Who Survived Order 66?
Even though the Jedi were supposed to be killed all at once, the galaxy is a big place. Some Jedi were able to stay hidden long enough to see the Rebellion rise. Some of them only lasted a few months after the first order.
In both the Legends continuity and the Disney canon, there are Jedi who, in some way, lived on after the Clone Wars ended. Major Jedi characters like Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi went into hiding until the Original Trilogy when they trained Luke Skywalker to keep the Jedi traditions alive. Revenge of the Sith shows how they both got away and made a long-term plan to beat the Emperor someday.
Some Force-users were saved if they were willing to join the dark side. This is where Vader and Palpatine found people to join their group of Inquisitors, who were Force-users who had been trained to hunt down the last Jedi. At least one of them, the Grand Inquisitor, used to be a guard at the Jedi Temple before the Empire came to power.
In the Marvel comic series Kanan Jarrus, Caleb Dume, the padawan who would later join Star Wars Rebels’ group of freedom fighters, is the main character. This comic shows how Caleb made it through Order 66 and later became Kanan Jarrus. In Kanan #1 by Greg Weisman and Pepe Larraz, the young Jedi and his teacher are on a mission away from the Jedi Temple with some clone troopers. Like most of the clones, they turn against the Jedi and kill Jedi Master Depa Billaba, who was Caleb’s teacher. Caleb escapes the purge by hiding at first and then finding help from people who are not Jedi. To stay hidden in plain sight, he doesn’t use the Force or his lightsaber in public.
In the video game Jedi: Fallen Order, the main character, Cal Kestis, is a lot like Kanan. He cuts himself off from anything that could connect him to his Jedi powers or the Order. He keeps busy by working in a scrap yard, but almost ten years later, he ends up back in the war.
Some of the clones also got away. After Ahsoka’s control chip was taken out, Captain Rex, Wolffe, and Gregor, two other clone troopers, left the Republic army and went into hiding on a remote world using a roving walker vehicle. In the end, they went back to the war, but this time as rebels fighting against the Empire.
Order 66 may have been the most important thing to happen in the Star Wars universe. The event that occurred between the time when the Jedi were at their best and the time when Force-users were scattered and hiding has been acted out more than once. But The Clone Wars is the closest thing we have to a retelling of what happened in Revenge of the Sith. It shows how the massacre affected more than just Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Yoda.
Related Stories Recommended By Writer:
