What Happened To Captain Rex After Order 66?

Captain Rex was a beloved character of The Clone Wars TV series. A Clone officer who served under Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars, Rex became a fan favorite because of his willingness to always do the right thing and to look out for his Clone brothers.

The Clone Wars ended right after Order 66 was issued. This has led many fans to wonder what happened to Captain Rex? Did he survive? And what did he do in the years following?

During Order 66, Captain Rex escaped his programming with the help of Ahsoka Tano. 

He spent the next several years organizing resistance groups against the Empire, eventually joining the Rebel Alliance and taking part in the Battle of Endor.

What Happened to Captain Rex After Order 66?

Captain Rex was promoted to Commander just before the events of Order 66, when he was sent to take part in the Siege of Mandalore under the command of Ahsoka Tano.

Order 66 was issued while they were in space, returning from the Siege. Rex was ordered to kill Ahsoka even though she was no longer a part of the Jedi Order. 

Rex fought against some initial mixed feelings, but ultimately, his programming won out and he attempted to shoot Ahsoka. Instead, she managed to stun him, get him to a medical bay, and remove his inhibitor chip.

Restored to his own consciousness, Rex escaped with Ahsoka as their Star Destroyer crashed into a moon. Everyone onboard the ship was killed in the crash. 

In the aftermath of Order 66 and the chaos that followed, Ahsoka and Rex decided to split up and go their separate ways.

Rex was assumed dead by the Empire, so he kept a low profile but continued fighting for the Republic, starting his own resistance efforts in the process. 

A lot of his actions during this time are unknown. In the TV series The Bad Batch, it is revealed that he recruited the Martez sisters, Trace and Rafa, to his cause, and also helped members of Clone Force 99 to remove their inhibitor chips. 

The Rebellion

Years later, during the events of Star Wars Rebels, Ahsoka made multiple attempts to contact Rex that went unanswered. At that time, Rex was in hiding with his fellow Clone officers Wolffe and Gregor, and they hid the transmissions from Rex to keep their hideout from being discovered. 

At this time, Ahsoka was working for the Rebellion under the codename Fulcrum, providing intelligence to various resistance groups throughout the galaxy. She sent members of one of these groups, the Spectres, to find Rex. 

The group, led by Jedi Kanan Jarrus and his padawan Ezra Bridger, found Rex and his comrades. They tried to convince the former Clone officers to join the rebellion.

The Clones were much older at this time, and Rex insisted that their fighting days were over. However, he later changed his mind when Kanan and Ezra returned to save the Clones and the Empire discovered their hideout.

Rex participated in many activities with the Rebellion during the following years, including a mission to Geonosis, defending the rebel base on Atollon, and fighting in a final “Clone War” battle with battle droids and droidekas. 

He became a member of the Alliance to Restore the Republic when the rebel groups were organized by Mon Mothma. He was stationed on Yavin 4 for a time, before the Battle of Yavin (depicted in the original Star Wars movie). 

Rex also took part in the liberation of Lothal, during which Ezra Bridger went missing. Rex stayed on Lothal to defend the planet, but continued to make himself available to the Rebel Alliance.

Most notably, he was selected to take part in the Battle of Endor; he was part of the team sent to destroy the Death Star’s shield generator. 

This mission led to the destruction of the second Death Star. It also saw the redemption of Rex’s former general, Anakin Skywalker, who effectively destroyed the Empire by throwing Emperor Palpatine down a reactor shaft and (presumably) killing him.

Who Was Captain Rex With After Order 66?

Immediately following the Order, Rex was with Ahsoka on their Venator-class Star Destroyer. They were returning Darth Maul to Coruscant after the Siege of Mandalore when the Order was issued.

As noted above, it was Ahsoka who saved Rex from his inhibitor chip, allowing him to think freely and act according to his own free will.

They soon parted ways, deciding to take their own paths in the galaxy, though both of them went into the Outer Rim territories.

Shortly after Order 66, Rex was with his former comrade Cut Lawquane, who had deserted the Grand Army of the Republic some times before but still had his inhibitor chip. Rex convinced Cut that he needed to get the chip removed for the safety of himself and his family.

Not long after that, Rex briefly met up with Clone Force 99 to catch up and help them remove their inhibitor chips.

After years of leading his own resistance efforts, he eventually ended up in hiding with fellow Clones Gregor and Wolffe, the three of them believing their fighting days were over.

Although, as previously noted, he later joined the resistance efforts alongside Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger along with their crew, and eventually joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic when it was organized.

Is Rex Still Alive During The Mandalorian?

The Mandalorian series takes place five years after the Battle of Endor. While it is unclear what happened to Rex after Endor, it is conceivable that he could still be alive five years later.

Before Season Two of the show was released, there were rumors that Rex would make an appearance, but he didn’t.

In fact, he hasn’t made any appearances in shows, books, or other media taking place after the Battle of Endor, so as fans, we have no way of knowing whether he is still alive or not.

We do know that he was quite old during the events of Return of the Jedi, and he would be a bit older during the Mandalorian timeframe. 

He was born in 32 BBY, and the Battle of Endor took place when he was 36 years old; however, due to the Clones’ sped-up aging process, he would have physically been about twice that age.

With that in mind, if he is still alive during the events of The Mandalorian, he may or may not still be fighting.

Conclusion

Clone Captain/Commander Rex was initially affected by Order 66, but he was restored to himself when Ahsoka stunned him and had his inhibitor chip removed. 

Following these events, he started his own resistance efforts against the Empire, determined to keep fighting for the freedom represented by the Republic. He eventually joined the Rebel Alliance and took part in the Battle of Endor.