Order 66 is a massive part of Star Wars canon, and it is safe to say we’ve seen the main parts of Order 66, from Revenge of the Sith to The Clone Wars. It is an important part of the universe because we got to witness the Jedi Order being wiped out, with only a small fraction of the Jedi surviving the initial purge, but the main question is: is Order 66 being used far too often now?
In Revenge of the Sith, Order 66 was horrifying because it felt sudden, brutal, and almost final; however, the more often Star Wars revisits it, the more familiar it becomes. Obi-Wan and Yoda were always known survivors, and a handful of others makes complete sense, but every new survivor slightly weakens the idea that Order 66 virtually wiped the Jedi from the galaxy.
The ending of The Clone Wars gave us Ahsoka and Rex from a new, incredible perspective, while The Bad Batch explored what happened from the Clones’ side. Those appearances expanded the event rather than simply replaying it. Seeing the clone troopers turn on the Jedi immediately creates tension because audiences already understand what is happening. Star Wars needs to be careful that Order 66 doesn’t become a shorthand for “this scene needs to be tragic.”
Where Order 66 starts becoming repetitive is when we go back to seeing it actually executed. Grogu’s story took us back to inside the Jedi Temple, eventually revealing Kelleran Beq rescuing him during Order 66. Don’t get me wrong, it’s super cool, but we are once again watching clones storm the Temple while Jedi try to survive. Reva survived the Jedi Temple massacre, then later became an Inquisitor to get close to Vader and kill him.
For me, Order 66 is becoming less of a defining historical moment and more of a mandatory origin story for each Jedi survivor from that period. Every new survivor potentially requires another explanation of “what they were doing when Order 66 happened.” This is where Star Wars risks trapping itself.
I’m not saying we don’t need to see Order 66 happen; all I’m saying is, give us new perspectives from it. Zero Company, the video game, did it incredibly well, in my opinion. They had Order 66, but they gave it to us from the perspective of having a discharged clone trooper on our squad who enacts that order; we then see the early days of the Republic becoming the Empire.
Order 66 should remain part of Star Wars, but every time Lucasfilm returns to it, there should be a reason beyond reminding audiences that it was tragic. Show us the perspectives we haven’t seen, consequences we haven’t explored, and the stories that actually add something to one of the most important moments in the franchise.
