Why The 501st Could Have Been Ordered To Kidnap Grogu During Order 66
George Lucas spared no expense when Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith debuted in 2005. Completing the full circle when Luke asked Ben, "You fought in the Clone Wars?" in Star Wars: A New Hope, Episode III broke our hearts and deepened our love for the Original Trilogy. In 2008 The Clone Wars also debuted as a side movie & show giving the important details of three long years of galactic civil war during the Republic era.
One of those details didn't come to the surface until Iron Man director Jon Favreau created the Disney+ show The Mandalorian, which included the mysterious child, Grogu, a character inspired by Jedi Master Yoda. Plenty of questions surrounded the green and long-eared child such as "Where did he come from?" and "What species is Grogu classified as?”
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The major question dominating social media currently is, "Who rescued Grogu from the Jedi Temple?" This question arose following The Book of Boba Fett where scenes showed us a tragic sequence during the events of Order 66.
The events of Order 66, while painful for fans to revisit, were necessary to further pique the curiosity of Grogu's story. As a youngling at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant when it was attacked by newly dubbed Darth Vader and the 501st Legion, we see more disheartening scenes. Three Jedi die defending themselves and appear to be trying to protect Grogu. This is where a very interesting question has been conjured up. Did the 501st Legion actually kidnap Grogu? Let’s talk about it and why it makes the most sense as to what happened.
We can only wonder who rescued Grogu from the Jedi Temple during Order 66. That realm of theories provides a set of obstacles as to why it would be difficult to come up with a solid theory. Thinking outside of the box for a moment, we can know that Palpatine was the mastermind behind The Clone Wars. He began taking interest in the affairs of the Jedi, him being a Sith Lord after all. Being aware of Yoda's ability to live an extended life, by human standards, due to his species type, Palpatine sought how to achieve that longevity for his own benefit.
Extending one's life is the most desired ability a Sith is most after, especially Sith Lord Darth Sidious, whom we saw in The Rise of Skywalker use his force ability to manipulate a clone named Snoke. To which also he sought to inhabit the body of his granddaughter Rey through Force possession.
As the stage was set after The Rise Of Skywalker dropped, The Mandalorian directors and producers Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau took the story back to the beginning to fill in some gaps in the Sequel Trilogy. The last images Grogu saw were Clone Troopers charging in his direction, so we can safely assume he was captured alive and that these were the 501st Legion.
With Grogu possibly being captured, it makes sense that Nala Se, a Kaminoan cloning scientist, was taken to Mount Tantis in The Bad Batch to continue her work for the Empire. Add in the fact that Snoke is a product of Force-sensitive clone science we can quickly put this puzzle together. Palpatine had Grogu marked as a high-value capture target, so he could begin his work on creating a stable Force-sensitive clone for himself. This would essentially extend his life so he could continue his reign as Emperor. As it all began with the 501st Legion kidnapping Grogu, we can only wonder how the little guy’s story will conclude. His story will continue with season 3 of The Mandalorian, due to be released later this year on Disney+.
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