Star Wars brings about 'clone commandos' as Empire's first imperial guards

The Star Wars franchise recently released some new concept art for Star Wars: The Bad Batch. This art implies that there could be a possibility that the initial iteration of the Imperial Royal Guards may have been clone commandos. The Disney+Hotstar series completed its first season online and has been releasing clips of events that took place between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.

Each clip released depicts different aspects of the Republic's transition into the Empire. The most note-worthy aspect is the obsolescence of clone troopers in favor of enlisted TK troopers. The Imperial Vice Admiral Rampart, Noshir Dalal spearheaded the initiative and termed it as 'Project War Mantle'. According to him, the enlisted troopers were superior to the clones that were employed by the Republic during the Clone Wars. Despite disliking clones, Imperial Vice Admiral Rampart continued to employ them to train TK troopers. However, the final season of The Bad Batch reveals that the clones served a much higher purpose. 

Kamino Lost’s most recent concept art identifies the clone commandos of the episode’s end as Imperial royal guards. Even though the emperor is not to be seen, the art communicates that the troopers report to Palpatine himself. The decision seems like a rather bizarre one, considering the fan-favourite red Imperial royal guards already exist during this timeline.

Red Imperial royal guards accompany Palpatine to the Coruscant opera in Revenge of the Sith. They also make an appearance in the animated series of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Fans now wonder why Palpatine would choose to enlist clones to defend his secret installation, when the clones were easily defeated by the Bad Batch.

Fans’ questions will likely be answered in the upcoming second season of the series. Other intriguing mysteries also remain to be addressed, like Nala Se’s future and clone troopers in the Empire’s service. The second season was announced at the beginning of this month and viewers hope to gain more insight into it through the clips the franchise is releasing. Fans hope they will address Palpatine's latest royal guards and gain some more information about Project War Mantle.

Picture Credits: Twitter-Theswu