Kamino is a pivotal planet inStar Wars, but inStar Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, the planet was revealed to be erased from the Jedi Order’s archives for one key reason. AlthoughStar Warsmovies and TV showshave introduced various new planets over time, particularly severalnew planets inThe Acolyte, there are a number of worlds that have been important in multipleStar Warseras.Palpatine and Padmé’s home planet of Naboois one such world, as is, of course, Coruscant.
Kamino is among the most influential planets inStar Wars, as its recurrent appearances intheStar Warstimelinemake clear. After being introduced inAttack of the Clones, Kamino was featured again inStar Wars: The Clone WarsandStar Wars: The Bad Batch. Despite this importance,Kamino’s introduction inStar Warswas shrouded in mystery, as the planet had curiously been erased from the Jedi archives.
Kamino Was The Home Of The Clone Army
InAttack of the Clones, Obi-Wan Kenobi goes on a hunt for Kamino after piecing together a number of clues following the assassination attempt on Padmé. This search is ultimately how he uncovers that the planet was erased from the Jedi archives, although he still doesn’t know how or why. He is nevertheless able to find the planet, at which point he discovers thatKamino houses a cloning facility that has produced a massive clone army to serve the Republic.
The clone army was specifically created to take down the Jedi via Order 66, just as the Clone Wars were orchestrated to bring down the Republic.
This comes as a major shock to Obi-Wan, not only because he (and the Jedi Council) had no idea such an army was being made, but also because Nala Se, one of the key scientists on Kamino, indicated that a Jedi Master named Sifo-Dyas had been the one to request the creation of the army. In the end, this was revealed to all be part of Palpatine’s plot. The clone army was specifically created to take down the Jedi via Order 66, just as the Clone Wars were orchestrated to bring down the Republic.
Every Jedi Who Survived Order 66 In Star Wars Canon
The Empire’s Clone army were forced to follow Order 66, wiping out the Jedi they were once loyal to, but not every hero fell.
The Planet Was Erased From The Jedi Archives By Count Dooku
This connection to Palpatine’s plot is precisely why Kamino was erased from the archives by Count Dooku. An early discovery of the clones would have risked the entire operation because the Jedi would have grown suspicious. The clones needed to be discovered at exactly the right time, and, in the end, they were. This revelation comes just before the Battle of Geonosis, which kicked off the Clone Wars. The Jedi and the Republic were effectively backed into a corner, wherein they needed the clones no matter how concerningly convenient the timing of their discovery was.
The Jedi and the Republic were effectively backed into a corner.
The necessity of the clones doesn’t exactly stop the Jedi’s acceptance of the army and even their involvement in the war from being rather odd, though. It was more than a little suspicious that a Jedi had apparently made the unilateral decision to order a clone army and that the clones were ready just in the nick of time. Nevertheless, the Jedi did accept and work closely with the clones, which spelled their demise just a few years later.
What Happened To Kamino After The Clone Wars
The fate of the clones and Kamino is truly one of the great tragedies ofStar Wars. As shown inThe Bad Batch, during the Dark Times, the remaining clone troopers had little use. The Empire either weaponized or discarded them, andObi-Wan Kenobirevealed that some even ended up on the street for this reason. Kamino’s fate was revealed to be even worse than that inThe Bad Batch.
Kamino and the Kaminoan cloning science ended up being pivotal toProject Necromancer and Palpatine’s resurrection plans. Following Emperor Palpatine’s jarring return inStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,Star Warsneeded to explain exactly how the Sith Lord came back.The Bad Batchdid some heavy lifting in that respect, filling in many of the gaps by revealing that during the Dark Times, Palpatine became obsessed with creating Force-sensitive clones—something that resulted in his return and, by extension, Rey Skywalker’s birth.
Palpatine needed the help of the Kaminoans, Nala Se in particular.
This was not a straightforward endeavor, however. Palpatine needed the help of the Kaminoans, Nala Se in particular, as they wereStar Wars’greatest scientific minds when it came to cloning. Palpatine did eventually get his hands on Nala Se, but to avoid the Kaminoans using cloning to benefit anyone other than the Empire,Kamino was destroyed inThe Bad Batchseason 1 finale.
Tragically,The Bad Batchreinforced how expendable the clones and Kamino really were to Palpatine and the Empire. They had no qualms about using both to their advantage and destroying them or casting them aside when they no longer served a purpose. The attack on Kamino was particularly crushing because it deprived the clones of even a home planet when they had already been left with so little. Kamino may have started out as a mystery inStar Warsbecause it was erased from the Jedi archives, but it ended up being one of the franchise’s saddest stories.
