The story of Captain Rex does not end with the series finale of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Over the show’s 12-year run, the leader of the 501st was rarely away from the spotlight. He first appeared in the critically maligned 2008 Clone Wars movie, but became a fan favorite nonetheless. Rex’s unique armor and can-do attitude were groundbreaking for the formerly generic clones. As a result, he went on many adventures during the galaxy-wide conflict, but they did not stop there. Even after the Clone Wars ended, Rex kept himself busy well into his retirement years.
Unlike many of his brothers, Rex survives to the end of The Clone Wars‘ last season. When Darth Sidious calls for Order 66 to begin, Rex hesitates before submitting to his programming. Eliminating his Jedi general and close friend Ahsoka Tano is his new mission, which he struggles to do. Luckily for both of them, she subdues him and removes his inhibitor chip, granting him free will once again. They escape the Venator-class Star Destroyer full of clones that they were on, with no help from a fleeing Darth Maul. They then commandeer a Y-wing bomber and land on a nearby, unnamed moon, preparing for their uncertain future. Both Rex and Ahsoka fake their deaths, living separate lives of secrecy from then on.
The last viewers see of Rex in The Clone Wars is his worn face after burying his fellow clones. While this is a conclusive end to the Star Wars prequel era, it is not the end of him. The follow-up series, Star Wars Rebels, provides a lot of insight into what he was doing in the age of the Empire after Order 66. Rex set up a new home on Seelos, meeting up with Wolffe and Gregor, the former clone commander and captain respectively. They lived a life of solitude aboard their AT-TE, hunting the local joopa population for food. Sometime later, Ezra Bridger, Kanan Jarrus, and the rest of the Ghost crew found the clones and recruited them into the Rebellion.
After Wolffe alerted the Empire of their visitors, they were thrown on the frontlines once again. The clones and the Rebels successfully fought back against an AT-AT walker, leading them to join the cause. This decision led Rex right back to Ahsoka, who was operating with the group under the codename Fulcrum. He later accompanied the Ghost crew on a handful of missions, while also joining the Phoenix Cell and the Massassi Group. One of Rex’s highest-profile missions with them came during the Battle of Endor, as a part of Han Solo’s strike team. They successfully disabled the Second Death Star’s shield generator, leading to its destruction.
Rex takes a lot of pride in his clone heritage and fighting in the Grand Army of the Republic. They were his golden years, and his tenure during the Clone Wars was better than most. However, the importance of his time as a key operative in the Rebel Alliance cannot be understated. He wasn’t bred for someone else’s war and held to his post by a brain implant this time around. He chose to play a major role in toppling a tyrannical Empire, all by his own volition. The Clone Wars showcases Rex’s heyday, but his life after the show ended is just as worthy of discussion.
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