Star Wars: Everyone Who’s A Clone In The Rise of Skywalker

Cloning science from the prequels allowed The Rise of Skywalker to explain the existence of some of the most pivotal Star Wars characters.

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker featured some familiar faces from Star Wars history, and while some were driven by the machinations of the Force, a surprising number were the result of arcane cloning science. The Star Wars sequel trilogy revolved around the conflict between Kylo Ren and Rey as they attempted to follow in the footsteps of Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, respectively, contesting the fate of the New Republic in the process. While their adventures were much more closely related to the original trilogy than the prequels, the clones they encountered in The Rise of Skywalker have roots that reach back to the days of the Galactic Republic.

Early cloning techniques were pioneered by the Kaminoans, whose sophisticated methodology allowed for alterations to variables such as disposition and aging. Their work was unveiled before the galaxy at large in Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones, when Kamino began producing the bulk of the Republic’s army, as commissioned by Sifo-Dyas. Although use of both the clone army and the cloning practice as a whole declined after the Clone Wars, the technology was not forgotten, and it eventually found its way into new hands.

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The Star Wars saga doesn’t delve too deeply into the ethics of cloning. The Kaminoans, for their part, were very pragmatic, seeing themselves as artisans rather than philosophers. And the clone troopers were certainly seen in a positive light by the citizenry of the Republic during the Clone Wars, even more so than their Jedi allies. However, there is, within the logic of the universe, an uncomfortable similarity between this branch of science and the power over life and death that is describe in the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise. As such, it was perhaps inevitable that cloning technology would be adopted followers of the dark side, especially in the sequel trilogy — revealed in The Rise of Skywalker.

After what was assumed to be his definitive death at the end of Return of the Jedi, Palpatine’s return in The Rise of Skywalker was unexpected, but its foundations were laid before even the Battle of Endor. As he fell into the depths of the second Death Star, all but defeated, Darth Sidious used his eldritch Force powers to transfer his consciousness far away, to the Sith hideout on Exegol, where efforts had been made to clone his body as a safeguard against just such a situation. Despite his best laid plans, the imperfect methods used by the Sith Eternal cultists resulted in a clone body that could not fully withstand the evil of Palpatine’s spirit, giving him the sickly, emaciated appearance seen at the beginning of The Rise of Skywalker.

The truth behind Snoke’s identity was heavily speculated upon after the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Although it’s not covered in great detail in the films, Snoke was actually artificially created by Palpatine to guide and challenge Kylo Ren. While the version of Snoke seen in the first two films of the sequel trilogy is presumed to be the original, multiple clones of his body can be seen in the Sith laboratory on Exegol, likely meant to preserve his life in the way Palpatine did his own. This never came to pass, however, as Sidious felt that, after Snoke was killed by Ren, the former was no longer needed for the latter’s development.

This is the most inconspicuous of the three. Although Rey is referred to as Palpatine’s granddaughter throughout The Rise of Skywalker, her father was not in fact the Emperor’s son, but an aberrant clone. As the Sith Eternals were trying to engineer a proper vessel for Sidious’s consciousness, they produced many failed attempts, one of which diverged greatly from its genetic precursor. Devoid of any Force sensitivity, the artificial man grew, against all odds, to be an upstanding human being. Unfortunately, Palpatine only deigned to keep his pseudo-child alive in the hopes that he could produce a Force-sensitive heir to the Sith throne, which he did when he and a human woman conceived Rey.

Next: Star Wars: Everything You Need To Read To Fully Understand Rise Of Skywalker