The clone troopers in Star Wars age much more quickly than ordinary people, and it's because the Kaminoans made them to serve a specific purpose - and quickly. Some select Jango Fett clones, like Boba Fett and Star Wars: The Bad Batch’s Omega, age at regular pace, but most of the soldiers bred for the Grand Army of the Republic grew up incredibly fast. Hundreds of thousands of troopers were ready for battle within only a decade of being commissioned.
Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas first contracted a clone army for the Republic after receiving a vision of war coming to the galaxy. He urged his fellow Jedi that an army was necessary for the galactic defense, but after being rebuffed by the council, he took matters into his own hands. After secretly ordering the army, Sifo-Dyas was killed in a series of events arranged by Count Dooku and Darth Sidious, who then took over control of the cloning operation from the shadows. Dooku hired Jango Fett to serve as the clone template, and the Grand Army of the Republic was born.
Breeding an army, however, takes time. In the interest of efficiency, the Kaminoans altered Fett’s genetic code when cloning it to produce soldiers who would grow twice as rapidly as ordinary people. This reasoning is explained to Obi-Wan Kenobi when he visits Kamino in Attack of the Clones and sees the army in action. By aging clones twice as quickly as normal, the Kaminoans were able to significantly save on resources and deliver the army to the Republic much sooner.
Of course, the accelerated aging of the clones also extends beyond their early years. In Star Wars Rebels, the crew of the Ghost encounter Rex, Wolffe and Gregor – three clones who managed to escape the control of Order 66. The three soldiers all look much older than they did during the Clone Wars, even though less than 20 years had passed by that point. This, too, is due to the Kaminoans’ accelerated aging modification, which severely shortens the lifespan of the clones.
Most clones who continued to serve the Empire in its early days were retired in the years following the Clone Wars, largely because of their accelerated aging. A few continued to serve in training positions, but most Stormtroopers were ordinary recruits by the time Rebels begins. Rex served the Rebel Alliance through the end of the Galactic Civil War, even fighting in the Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi. And, of course, Boba Fett lives beyond the original Star Wars trilogy and well into the events of The Mandalorian, due to his lack of the accelerated aging modification.
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June 28, 2021 at 12:43AM
