Part of Andor's formula is to focus on the Empire's means of oppression. With the Republic fallen, and the galaxy now Emperor Palpatine's toy box, Imperial forces seem to be everywhere. And, as seen through Cassian Andor's eyes, they're always a problem. Andor's attention to detail is a strong point of the series, but its focus on Imperial security and the use of TIE fighters paints a particularly vivid picture of the Star Wars universe at its darkest moment.
Andor bridges the two decades between the rise of the Empire at the end of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and the destruction of the Death Star in A New Hope. As such, it reveals a key change from Clone Troopers to Stormtroopers, which occurred in the gap between the two films. For instance, a flashback scene in Season 1, Episode 7, "Announcement," shows Clone Troopers on the streets, while contemporary sequences reveal Stormtroopers in the same position. It’s a subtle distinction and sometimes looks like nothing but a slightly different armor design. In fact, the difference between Clone Troopers and Stormtroopers is one of the keys to this part of the Star Wars timeline.
Clone Troopers Were Created To Seize Power
Clone Troopers are genetic copies of bounty hunter Jango Fett, created by the Kaminoans in secret to provide the Republic with an army. While they evince variations and individual identities as their lives take different paths, they all stem from the same DNA, and, thus, look and sound exactly like one another. Their armor is best described as "protean Stormtrooper," though decorations and other unique touches were prevalent during the Clone Wars.
They first appear in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones as the Separatists formally break from the Republic. Palpatine intends to use them as cat's paws the entire time. No one doubts the need of an army with civil war brewing, and the question of who paid the Kaminoans to develop the Clones becomes lost in the need to stop the Separatists. Ironically, Palpatine controls them as well. The Separatists are engineered to create a crisis, which the Clone Troopers magically show up to solve.
That pays dividends in Revenge of the Sith, as Palpatine executes Order 66. The Clones -- programmed from conception to obey it -- turn on their Jedi commanders en masse. In one single stroke, they go from loyal comrades to implacable enemies, wiping out the Jedi in the process. Palpatine then orders the Separatist droid armies to shut down, leaving him in control of the galaxy. The Clone Troopers perform exactly as he needs them to.
Stormtroopers Were Conscripted To Hold Power
With the war over, the Clones have served their purpose, and since cloning operations are expensive, the new Emperor decides to change course. Conscripts and volunteers -- who don't need to be raised and trained from birth -- are far more cost-effective and don't require Order 66 levels of loyalty to do their job. The first season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch goes deep into the details of the crossover, starting with Season 1, Episode 1, "Aftermath." Admiral Tarkin arrives on Kamino to terminate their contract, bluntly telling them that conscripts can do the same job "at half the cost." The first season goes on to show how Clone operations are slowly terminated, climaxing in Season 1, Episode 15, "Return to Kamino" as the Empire attacks and destroys the Kaminoans' cloning facilities.
After that, Clone Troopers are quickly phased out and conscripted Stormtroopers become the norm. Clones age more rapidly than non-Clones -- another reason the Empire doesn't want them anymore -- and their short shelf-life means that the change takes place comparatively quickly. Andor takes place in the midst of that transition, which the showrunners make careful note of in their use of the Empire's ground forces. The change is incidental for the likes of Cassian, but for the Star Wars universe as a whole, it's enormous.
Andor Season 1 is available to stream now on Disney+.