Two prominent alien species in Episode II: Attack of the Clones are now extinct

Star Wars fans are now in a state of mourning because the Kaminoan species has seemingly just been confirmed to be extinct. This comes after the Geonosian species, which was also introduced in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, was tragically driven to extinction within the current canon. Fans will no doubt be saddened by the loss of these two popular species, but this development further proves that Lucasfilm is not afraid to go the extra mile when it comes to mature storytelling.

The Season 1 finale of Star Wars: The Bad Batch featured a massacre on the planet Kamino carried out by Imperial Forces, which left much of the world’s populated areas in ruins. The reason for this massacre was that the Empire had started to view Kamino’s advanced cloning technology as a threat. And since the Kaminoans were furious after the Empire decided to cease all its cloning contacts on the world and instead launched its own cloning program across various other locations, it was felt that action needed to be taken before the Kaminoans attempted to exact revenge upon the Empire.

Throughout The Bad Batch, we saw that large portions of the populated areas of Kamino were laid to waste by the Empire, but the damage may be even greater than we were initially led to believe. The upcoming book Star Wars: The Secrets of the Clone Troopers refers to the Kaminoan race in the past tense, indicating that Kaminoans are now extinct. The passage in question from the book by Marc Sumerak was initially found by Screen Rant, and it can be found below. While the passage does not explicitly state that all Kaminoans were wiped out, it certainly seems to point in that general direction. The passage states:

"Located in the far-flung reaches of the galaxy, this water-covered world was home to a race of brilliant scientists. The Kaminoans were the galaxy's foremost experts in cloning long before they were ever conscripted to build an army for the Republic."

If you would like to purchase Star Wars: The Secrets of the Clone Troopers for yourself, the reference book will be released by publisher DK Publishing on September 10, 2024. It sounds like the book will no doubt reveal some key details about the current state of affairs within the Star Wars galaxy.

The Kaminoans were a technologically advanced race of long-necked amphibians who used their advanced cloning skills to supplement their dwindling birth rates. Therefore, a significant portion of the Kaminoan race consisted of clones. The Kaminoans were considered expert cloners long before the creation of the Clone Troopers, who later formed the Grand Army of the Republic. Since Kamino is located on the outskirts of the established Star Wars galaxy in a remote region of Wild Space, the Kaminoans were able to carry out their cloning operations without being detected for many years. The planet’s remote location proved ideal for its secretive operations. Kaminoan culture also frowned upon public displays of emotion and affection, which explains why most Kaminoans appeared to be stoic and somber whenever they encountered other sentient species.

The Kaminoans are not the only species introduced in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones to have been driven to extinction in Star Wars canon, as the Geonosians are now also extinct. Originally hailing from the desert world of Geonosis, the insectoid Geonosians played a key role in Attack of the Clones. They operated factories on their Outer Rim homeworld where the droid armies used by the Separatists were constructed. The droid armies later served as the main armed forces for the Confederacy of Independent Systems, or CIS, throughout the Clone Wars. This made Geonosis an invaluable planet for the CIS throughout the conflict.

After the Clone Wars ended and the Empire rose to power, the factories on Geonosis were no longer needed, as Battle Droids were no longer in use. The leader of the Geonosians, Poggle the Lesser, was killed along with the other Separatist leaders by Darth Vader on Mustafar in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.

The newly formed Empire clearly had no desire to employ the Geonosians for their services. Instead, the Empire enslaved the Geonosians and forced them to participate in the construction of the First Death Star above Geonosis before sterilizing the planet with Imperial Death Canisters in order to prevent word of the Death Star’s existence from spreading to other parts of the galaxy. This genocide was detailed in the Star Wars Rebels animated series and in Kieron Gillen's 2015 comic run of Darth Vader. It resulted in the extinction of the native Geonosians, making it one of the many atrocities committed by the totalitarian Empire.

The Kaminoans and the Geonosians both played huge roles in Attack of the Clones, making them the most notable alien races to have been introduced in the 2002 film. The actions of both species throughout the film also played a key role in galactic history. They helped shape the galaxy's key political events, making them two of the most significant alien beings in the entire history of the Star Wars franchise. Fans will no doubt mourn the combined loss of these two unique alien species, and how both of them were driven to extinction shows just how evil the Empire truly was.

Wiping out two of the most recognizable alien species from the Star Wars movies will always be remembered as a bold and daring move by Lucasfilm. This is because it proves that the company is not afraid to eradicate popular elements of the Star Wars franchise when they feel that it will serve the stories they are trying to tell. It is clear that Lucasfilm will not hesitate to change the Star Wars galaxy in ways that may seem shocking and distressing to fans. The company will spare no expense in order to tell the best stories it can.

The eradication of the Geonosians and the Kaminoans will forever serve as reminders of the evil lengths the Empire was willing to go to achieve its goals. And how these evil actions were depicted in a franchise that many people still believe is just for children will certainly be remembered as some of the strongest examples of mature storytelling throughout the Disney era. Star Wars may primarily be a family-friendly franchise, but it is definitely not afraid to push the envelope of mature storytelling when it needs to. The Galactic Empire was truly an evil and despicable governing body, and Lucasfilm will go to any lengths necessary to emphasize this.

You may not necessarily agree with the decision to eradicate the Kaminoans and the Geonosians from the current Star Wars canon. However, you will certainly still admire Lucasfilm’s willingness to explore such daring and distressing themes throughout the Star Wars franchise. If you watch Attack of the Clones with your children and they ask why there were no Geonosians or Kaminoans in any of the recent Star Wars movies, you might want to prepare yourself for tears before you answer their question.