Star Wars Reveals the Dark Fate of Kamino’s Cloning Program

Star Wars has revealed the dark end of Kamino's cloning program. Star Wars fans once wondered about the Clone Wars, first mentioned in a throwaway line from the original Star Wars movie. In Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, fans learned that the conflict got its name from the Clone Troopers created by the cloners of the planet Kamino that made up the Grand Army of the Republic. Star Wars revealed how the war ends in The Clone Wars and Revenge of the Sith, leaving fans to wonder what happened to the clones and the scientists who created them after the Empire's rise. Star Wars: The Bad Batch's latest episode, "Return to Kamino," provides some answers to those questions. SPOILERS follow for the first part of the Star Wars: The Bad Batch season finale.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch, among other things, helps bridge the gap between fellow animated shows Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, taking place during the prequel trilogy and shortly before the original trilogy, respectively. From the first episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, it seemed clear that the power players in the Empire were not fans of clones. Governor Tarkin viewed the clones were expensive and not particularly good soldiers. He expressed his opinion directly to the Kaminoan prime minister. The Bad Batch's first season finale sees Tarkin's desire to shut down the cloning program come to fruition.

Vice Admiral Rampart oversaw the decommissioning of the Kaminoan cloning facilities. Any Kaminoans who resisted were "eliminated." The Empire took the program's key scientists prisoners (perhaps to aid the Emperor's cloning attempts?). Rampart had Crosshair lure his former squadmates in Clone Force 99 back to Kamino before ordering his ships orbiting the planet to open fire on the cloning facility.

That's where the episode ends. Since Disney renewed Star Wars: The Bad Batch for a second season, fans must assume that the squad somehow survives the bombardment. The details will presumably be revealed in the second part of the season finale, debuting next Friday.

What do you think of this ending for the cloners of Kamino? Do you think their scientists go on to assist in the Emperor's cloning projects? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch is streaming now on Disney+. The final episode of the season debuts on August 13th.