A New Hope was where we first heard about the "Clone Wars," but it wasn't until George Lucas' Star Wars prequels that period was finally elaborated on. Attack of the Clones introduced the Galaxy's Clone army, The Clone Wars TV series revealed the full extent of the conflict, and Revenge of the Sith saw them forcibly used to wipe the Jedi out as part of Order 66.
Up until now, only fan theories have been able to address why, in the two decades or so between Episodes III and IV, the Clone Troopers were somehow replaced by human Stormtroopers.
Well, The Bad Batch has finally shed some light on how the Empire phased them out.
In the show's first season, we saw human troopers being trained by clones and the destruction of Kamino's cloning facilities at the hands of Vice Admiral Rampart. This week's two-parter showed that there's growing dissension among the clones forced to bend to the Empire's will and it's clear the soldiers are no longer the malleable force Emperor Palpatine requires.
After Rampart attempts to sell the Galactic Senate on a new "Defense Recruitment Bill" to replace clones with a conscripted military, he's thrown under the bus by the Emperor when his crimes are revealed (all of which he enacted at 'ol Sheev's request).
With that, the villain twists the situation to his liking, convincing the Senate to agree to that act so he can "usher in a new era, heralded by the Imperial Stormtrooper."
We're anticipating the animated series delving into the fallout from this decision, though we got a taste of that in Obi-Wan Kenobi when the Jedi crossed paths with a homeless Clone Trooper. Filling in these gaps is definitely a good use of the series, though it feels like there's still more story to tell.
Despite no longer cloning soldiers, we know Palpatine focused on extending his own life through cloning, so perhaps that's something the Bad Batch will encounter...after all, we're still waiting on an origin story for Supreme Leader Snoke!
What do you guys think about this explanation for Stormtroopers replacing clones?