Skip to main content

star wars - When were the Clone Troopers replaced with regular humans?


It is clear in the original trilogy (Episodes IV-VI) that the Storm Troopers are regular humans. Mostly because of the funny scene, where a tall Trooper hits his head on a low door while his colleagues pass through with ease. So they are not clones but individual humans with different body types. At the end of the prequels (Episodes I-III) it seems the whole military is made of the clones and the droids we've seen attacking Naboo. So when did the Empire stop using clones, e.g. replace fallen clones with real humans again? Side question: Were there units where clones and humans fought together?


There is a related question: Why did the Empire discontinue the clone trooper program? However, the other question asks why, whereas this one asks when.



Answer



Clone troopers were almost entirely replaced by human volunteers within 5 years after the end of the Clone Wars.


The canon novel Tarkin shows that most stormtroopers were regular humans and that there were only a few aging clones left (emphasis added):




When the stormtrooper operating the equipment accidentally allowed [Vader's meditation] sphere to bang against the edge of the cargo hold’s retracted hatch, Vader stamped forward with his gloved hands clenched.


“I warned you to be careful!” he shouted up at the trooper.


“My apologies, Lord Vader. Wind shear from—”


“Excuses won’t suffice, Sergeant Crest,” Vader cut him off. “Perhaps you are aging too quickly to remain on active duty.”


Tarkin couldn’t make sense of the remark until he realized that Crest’s was a face he had seen countless times during the war—the face of an original Kamino clone trooper. The bare-headed others comprising Vader’s squad were human regulars who had enlisted after the war.


Tarkin, p. 94



Since the human regulars were said to have "enlisted after the war", it sounds like production of the clones ended with the Clone Wars and the Empire began phasing them out immediately.


The five year upper bound is provided by the fact that the novel takes place five years after the end of the Clone Wars and the creation of the Empire:




A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...


Five standard years have passed since Darth Sidious proclaimed himself galactic Emperor...


Opening crawl for Tarkin, p. 4 (a copy of the opening crawl is also available on Facebook)



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - How could Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra?

I want to be very careful about how I ask this question – I am not asking How did Voldemort die? [CLOSED] Below the text is the relevant passages from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows if anyone wants to review them (I'm sorry for the amount of text). How did Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra and kill Voldemort? I feel the reason Harry's Expelliarmus overpowered Voldemort's Avada Kedavra curse has to do with who was master of the Elder Wand and how the Elder Wand works. I've always had trouble understanding fully how the Elder Wand works, though. How much did the fact that Voldemort never truly won or mastered the Elder Wand factor into how Expelliarmus reacted to Avada Kedavra and caused Avada Kedavra to rebound and kill Voldemort? An answer based in book canon would be especially welcome, but any canon source really is fine. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he, too, yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco’s wand: ‘ Avada Kedavra !’ ‘ Expelliarmus !...
Post a Comment
Read more

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...
Post a Comment
Read more