From their inception, however, they were tools of the Sith who were embedded amongst the Jedi Knights to gain their trust and friendships before Order 66 turned them into their assassins.

Officially, the clone troopers were created as an army of elite soldiers and pilots who could back up the Jedi in their war against the Separatists (which was manufactured and orchestrated by the Sith in secret). In both canon and Legends, Order 66 is expanded upon and in many cases retconned, adding to the intricacies and horror of Palpatine’s plans in both continuities. The order was one of Palpatine’s most useful tools in initiating the Jedi Purge and his coup that turned the Galactic Republic into the Empire. Order 66 was Chancellor Palpatine’s directive to all clone troopers to immediately execute their Jedi Generals on the spot for high treason. Order 66 was a pivotal point in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, but various non-movie material, especially Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: The Bad Batch, introduced several retcons to the order.

Republic commandos order 66