What Happened to Captain Rex After Order 66?

Rex survived Order 66 because Ahsoka Tano had droids remove the inhibitor chip from his head. He then flew a Y-wing out of a Star Destroyer that crashed on a moon, and the Empire listed him as killed in action. He spent the years after that in hiding, and he joined the rebels once Tano sent the Ghost crew to find him on Seelos. (The Clone Wars, "Shattered" and "Victory and Death". Star Wars Rebels, "The Lost Commanders")

This page covers the gap between Order 66 and the rebellion. For his whole career, start with the Captain Rex page.

The chip and the crash#

Order 66 reached Rex aboard the Star Destroyer Tribunal, which was carrying the captive Darth Maul back to Coruscant. Darth Sidious appeared by hologram, ordered the clones to carry out Order 66, and gave Rex a special order to execute Tano. Rex agreed to do it. (The Clone Wars, "Shattered" and "Victory and Death")

When Tano came into the room, two clones aimed their blasters at her. Rex ordered them to stand down and said he would do it himself. He remembered what Fives had tried to tell him about the chips, managed to tell Tano to "find him," and then shot at her when the chip took hold. Tano stunned him with help from astromech droids. She took him to a medical bay and used the Force to find the chip in his brain, and droids removed it while she held off the clones at the door. When Tano asked how widespread the chips were, Rex admitted they were in every single clone. (The Clone Wars, "Shattered")

The two fought toward the hangar, where clones led by Jesse were waiting. Rex then flew a Y-wing bomber out of the Star Destroyer and caught Tano as she plunged toward the moon. (The Clone Wars, "Shattered" and "Victory and Death")

After the crash, the two buried the dead clones and marked the graves with helmets. Tano dropped a lightsaber among them so it would look as if both of them had died in the crash. (The Clone Wars, "Victory and Death") Imperial records later listed Rex as killed in action, and he told the Bad Batch that being dead in the Empire's eyes had its advantages. (The Bad Batch, "Battle Scars")

Hiding in the Outer Rim#

Rex and Tano agreed to part ways while they dug the graves, and each set out for the Outer Rim. (Ahsoka, E. K. Johnston)

Rex went back to Saleucami to see his old friend Cut Lawquane. He explained Order 66 and the inhibitor chips to Cut, then left. (The Bad Batch, "Cut and Run") He decided to strike against the Empire and help other clones where he could. (Star Wars Fandom wiki, Rex entry)

He tracked down Clone Force 99, the Bad Batch, on Ord Mantell. When he saw their chips were still in place, he convinced them to meet him on Bracca, where the chips were removed inside a Star Destroyer being scrapped. (The Bad Batch, "Battle Scars")

When his friend Gregor was captured on Daro, Rex asked the Bad Batch to go after him, and they freed Gregor. (The Bad Batch, "War-Mantle")

Rex then met Commander Wolffe and Gregor, and the three lived in a modified AT-TE walker on the desert planet Seelos. (Star Wars Rebels, "The Lost Commanders")

How he joined the rebels#

Tano's transmissions to Rex went unanswered, because Wolffe had hidden their existence from him. The wiki gives the reason as fear that being caught working with a former Jedi would bring the Empire after them. (Star Wars Rebels, "The Lost Commanders", and the Star Wars Fandom wiki)

Tano then sent Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger to find Rex and get information on abandoned bases the rebels could use. Jarrus ignited his lightsaber when the clones looked like a threat, and Rex stepped in to break up the fight. Rex agreed to make a list of bases, and in return he asked the rebels to take part in a hunt for joopas. (Star Wars Rebels, "The Lost Commanders")

Rex later became part of the Phoenix cell. (Star Wars Rebels, "Relics of the Old Republic")

Life in the rebellion#

Rex fought with the Phoenix cell on rebel missions. He and Kanan Jarrus infiltrated an Imperial Interdictor to rescue Ezra Bridger and Commander Jun Sato. Admiral Brom Titus promised Rex immunity and reinstatement at an Imperial Academy in exchange for talking his friends into surrendering, and Rex turned him down. (Star Wars Rebels, "Stealth Strike")

When the rebels settled on Atollon, Rex was put in charge of setting up Chopper Base. Krykna spiders captured him there, and Wren and the Spectres freed him. (Star Wars Rebels, "The Mystery of Chopper Base")

When Tano went to Malachor with Bridger, Jarrus and Chopper, Rex offered to join her. She told him it was Jedi business and turned him down, so he stayed at Chopper Base. When the Phantom landed without her, Rex bowed his head. (Star Wars Rebels, "Twilight of the Apprentice")

He was later promoted to commander and fought at the Battle of Endor, which Sabine Wren's closing narration confirms. (Star Wars Rebels, "Family Reunion and Farewell")

Who commanded the 501st?#

Anakin Skywalker commanded the 501st, and Rex was his first in command. Some wiki summaries describe Rex as the legion's commander, but the 501st entry lists Skywalker in that role and Rex under him. (The Clone Wars, and the Star Wars Fandom wiki's 501st Legion entry)

Skywalker was recalled to Coruscant during the Battle of Umbara, and Pong Krell led the legion until he turned out to be a Separatist agent. Rex led the battalions in a mutiny against Krell. When the Clone Wars ended, the 501st split in two, and Rex was promoted to Clone Commander and took command of the 332nd Division. Under the Empire, Darth Vader led the 501st as his personal legion. (Star Wars Fandom wiki, 501st Legion entry)

My read#

My read is that Wolffe's decision to keep Rex in the dark is the most frustrating beat in Rex's story after Order 66. Tano kept sending transmissions that nobody answered. Fear of the Empire is a reason I can follow, but I'd still have wanted Rex to hear from his old friend sooner.