Star Wars: The Clone Wars may have created a massive plot hole ten years ago, and it's only being noticed now. The Clone Wars recently returned for its seventh and final season, airing on Disney+. Its premiere episode brings back fan-favorite clone troopers, Captain Rex and Commander Cody, as well as introduce audiences to the Bad Batch - a group of clones with some advantageous mutations.
The first collection of episodes in Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 7 are also the finished product of episodes originally released following the show's cancellation, but before they could be fully completed. This means that fans already know some of what is to come in The Clone Wars season 7, and that it will still be a few episodes before Anakin Skywalker or Obi-Wan Kenobi have larger roles, or fan-favorite Ahsoka Tano even appears. Still, the excitement surrounding the completion of The Clone Wars' story remains high, and with new episodes releasing weekly on Disney+, fans will have plenty of time to keep the hype going as season 7 gets underway.
This return to the animated series, however, has brought to our attention a potential plot hole created by Star Wars: The Clone Wars. One that could just be a mistake, or have an in-universe exploration that hasn't yet been revealed. It involves the clone troopers and the Kaminoans who create them, in particular the Kamino Prime Minister, Lama Su, as well as the DNA of the clone's genetic source, the bounty hunter Jango Fett.
The Clone Wars Says Deterioration of the DNA Sample Produces Inferior Clones
In the season 3 premiere of Star Wars: The Clones Wars, "Clone Cadets", audiences were introduced to Domino Squad - a group of cadets struggling to complete their training. The episode follows the clones as they learn to work together as a team, eventually passing their final exercise and graduating. "Clone Cadets" is one of many Clone Wars episodes that helps to humanize the clones and present them as individual characters who audiences would care and root for as the series progresses. But it's also where Star Wars introduces the idea that in the wake of Jango Fett's death in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, the DNA sample of Fett's that the Kaminoans use to create their clones is deteriorating.
After observing one of Domino Squad's failed attempts on the training course, Shaak Ti meets with Lama Su to discuss the clones. They have the following exchange:
Lama Su: "I understand your concern Master Jedi. Ever since the death of Jango Fett, we have had to stretch his DNA to produce more clones."
Shaak Ti: "A Jedi does not feel concern, Lama Su. However, I have noticed this unit of clones have been..."
Lama Su: "Deficient? My only thought is for you to search the galaxy and find a suitable donor for future clones."
Shaak Ti: "And what of the clones produced so far."
Lama Su: "As you know, there is no one way to make a clone. Sometimes our efforts are less than successful."
The implication from Lama Su in this scene is that the clones who comprise Domino Squad are performing worse than previous clones because they are made from a deteriorating sample of DNA. The episode itself disproves this thinking with it being the clones' lack of team cohesion that makes them a bad squad, but Lama Su is looking at the bigger picture, not just Domino Squad. He's also taking in to consideration their failed cloning attempts, like the mutated 99 and the later introduced Bad Batch. What Lama Su is observing is that his product on the whole is becoming worse than it was before, and his reason for why is because they no longer have a viable genotype from which to make new, better clones.
Clones Are Supposed to Take 10(ish) Years to Mature
The Clone Army is first introduced in Attack of the Clones when Kenobi follows the trail of the lost Jedi, Sifo-Dyas, and discovers the cloners of Kamino have created a massive army for the Republic. At the time of Kenobi's arrival, there are 200,000 available clone troopers and Lama Su promises they have a million more on the way. He also explains how they modify the clones to make them more docile and less aggressive than Jango Fett, allowing them to more easily follow orders. And unlike droids, the clones are still capable of creating thinking, giving them an advantage on the battle field.
Most importantly, though, the time it takes a clone to reach maturity is roughly half that of a normal human, about ten years. This accelerated aging is what makes it possible for the Kaminoans to fill Sifo-Dyas' order in a timely manner and have them ready just as war is breaking out between the Republic and the Separatists.
The Clone Wars Weren't Long Enough For the Inferior Clones to be Action Ready
And this is where Lama Su's reasoning begins to fall apart. Of those initial 200,000 and the next million clones, all would have been created from what is presumably a stable DNA sample. That is to say, one recently acquired from Jango Fett prior to the start of cloning. Fett lived on Kamino, and though he'd leave to take on new bounties, he would still be regularly available to provide fresh DNA to the Kaminoans. When Kenobi discovers the Clone Army, it's been almost two decades since Sifo-Dyas first sought its creation. And since it takes at least a decade for clones to mature, it's been more than enough time to produce the number of clone troopers Lama Su says they have.
However, seeing as the clones do take roughly 10 years to reach maturity, then those created from the remaining DNA available following Fett's death in Attack of the Clones couldn't be action-ready at the start of the Clone Wars, or even by their end. The Clone Wars is a three-year conflict that begins with the Battle of Geonosis - the very battle in which Jango Fett dies. This would mean that during the Clone Wars, the Kaminoans have, at most, some infant to perhaps toddler-aged clones created from Fett's deteriorating DNA sample, even with the accelerated aging factored in. There's no way that Domino Squad, the mutated clone 99, or any of the clone troopers active during the Clone Wars came from DNA that Lama Su claims they have "stretched" in order to meet demands. Any and all clones trooper seen during the Clone Wars must have been created prior to Fett's death, and therefore, couldn't actually be these "deficient" clones Lama Su is worried they're producing.
Possible Explanations For This Plot Hole in Canon
So why does Lama Su come to the conclusion that the deteriorating sample of Jango Fett's DNA is the reason for their inferior clones? There are a couple of reasons. The first is that Lama Su could be lying. Creating the Clone Army gives Kamino an unbelievable amount of influence in the Republic, but if they can no longer supply the clones, they lose that influence. The Clone Army isn't in dire straits at this moment because the clones created from the deteriorating DNA sample aren't yet ready for battle, but that's the future if a new genotype isn't soon found. And already, Lama Su is thinking of how to avoid that future, using Shaak Ti's concern over Domino Squad to plant the idea that, without a new genotype, the clones they produce are only going to get worse.
Another possibility for Lama Su blaming bad clones on bad DNA is that's actually what's happening - only now, the Kaminoans have accelerated the aging process to an even faster degree. As the Clone Wars continue and more systems are dragged into the conflict, it's possible that the demand for clone troopers increases beyond what Kamino can supply in their 10-year turn around. If so, it's possible they find a way to accelerate the speed at which clones mature even more, making them combat-ready in just a fraction of the time it originally took. Modifying the clones so they age even faster than before could also explain the different mutations, with some trial and error happening along the way. Lama Su does say, "Sometimes our efforts are less than successful," possibly implying the defective clones are the result of experimentation just as much as deteriorating DNA.
If this were the case, and the Kaminoans did speed up the rate at which a clone reaches maturity, then yes, some of the clones active during the Clone Wars could have been created from Jango Fett's DNA after his death. Otherwise, Lama Su is either lying or Star Wars: The Clone Wars inadvertently created a major plot hole ten years ago and no one noticed.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 7 continues Friday, February 28th on Disney+.