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Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collectionbringsthe two iconic ’00s gamesto modern consoles, but a lot has changed in the last 20 years. Disney bought Lucasfilm and thus the rights to the franchise, an entire sequel trilogy was released, The Clone Wars wrapped up, and Battlefront itself was rebooted.
New TV shows, comics, games, and novels have since filled in the gaps between the prequel and original trilogies, much as Battlefront did all those years ago, explaining how we went from Order 66 to the Empire in its prime. So, do the original games still fit into canon, or are they now ‘Legends’?
Order 66
The first Battlefront doesn’t really have a narrative, butthe sequel follows the 501st Legion, Anakin Skywalker’s battalion of Clones, revealing key details that clash with Disney’s version of events.
As per the now-finished Clone Wars TV show, we knowthe Republic army was not aware of Order 66or any plans to betray the Jedi. Instead, a chip was placed in each Clone’s head that Palpatine later activated to make them kill their Jedi allies - their bonds were genuine, not an act.
The success of the mission on Mygeeto was something of a revelation for the men of the 501st. Suddenly, we realised that the Jedi could be fooled. And if they could be fooled, they could be killed.
However,in Battlefront 2 (2005), the Clones are fully aware of Order 66and are actively planning to betray and kill the Jedi.There’s no chip that makes them do it, which is completely at odds with Disney’s story, makingthe original Battlefront games not canon.
What Stayed Canon?
While Battlefront 2 (2005) has joined much of the old Expanded Universe (EU) as Legends,there are some elements that have remained in Disney’s universe, such as the 501st Legion themselves.
They did appear in Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, but they weren’t named or given a backstory. Promotional material and novels such as Survivor’s Quest and Fool’s Bargain, along with Battlefront 2, put a name to the blue-striped troopers.The game then fleshed them out as Anakin’s personal squad.
In the game, following Order 66, they were sent to resisting planets to ‘encourage’ political opponents to see things the Empire’s way. In canon, they were ruthless killers absorbed into the wider Stormtrooper army, likewise taking part in the battle of Hoth.
Another key plot point that remained canon was the destruction of Kamino’s cloning facilities. In Battlefront 2, it’s one of the first missions the 501st takes on after Order 66, but we get to see a different version of events inThe Bad Batchwhen the entire planet is bombarded, destroying every single facility.
So, while Battlefront 2 isn’t canon anymore, its influence can still be felt in Disney’s universe. The 501st are as iconic as ever, and plot elements like Kamino’s destruction have been repurposed two decades later. However, while Battlefront 2 showed the transition from Republic to Empire through the eyes of the 501st, Disney instead chose to show it through the more sympathetic lense of The Bad Batch.
