Category Archives: Cloning

People like The Mandalorian, but people love Baby Yoda. The tiny, heartbreakingly beautiful, puppet in Disney Plus flagship Star Wars show is the object of awwwws across the internet, and the clear breakout star.

But the shows timeline, and how it fits into the Star Wars universe, means that the name weve come to be calling him isnt accurate. Its not probably Baby Yoda but does that mean its not Baby Yoda.

Lets break it down why The Mandalorians big mystery might be a little confusing to viewers who arent devoting hours to EU content and Wookieepedia.

The Mandalorian picks up five years after the events of Return of the Jedi and 25 years before The Force Awakens. This puts it around the time of the rise to power of the First Order, the main antagonists from the new trilogy. In fact, the First Order could even be connected to Warner Herzogs The Client character, who sends The Mandalorian on his mission to find Baby Yoda to begin with.

But what exactly does this mean for Baby Yoda?

In Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda is about 900 years old. (When 900 years old, you reach look as good, you will not!) That means hes the same age when he dies shortly after training Luke. We later see him appear as a Force ghost, letting us know that he has indeed passed on from the realm of the living.

The Mandalorian is set somewhere around 9 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin), which after cross-checking with various Star Wars timeline resources, puts it about six years after Yodas introduction in Empire. Since we know The Asset (Baby Yoda) is 50 years old in the show, well assume it was born 41 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin) which also happens to be the birth year of Anakin Skywalker. So, Baby Yoda isnt Baby Yoda, since regular Yoda would have been very much alive at that time. There are a few other possibilities.

Lets talk about Yaddle. One of the most intriguing and mysterious of the additions to Star Wars canon from the prequel films, Yaddle was a Jedi Master and sat on the Jedi council. She was a female member of Yodas species, and until The Asset showed up, the only other member wed seen. So, were forced to ask: is Baby Yoda the child of Yoda and Yaddle?

If true, it would change the way we have to view Yoda. It would mean that he, like Anakin, had broken his Jedi vows, and even more importantly, that he just shipped his kid off to The Outer Rim almost 10 years before The Phantom Menace even started. On the other hand, since Yoda and Yaddle are both extremely Force sensitive, it explains where Baby Yodas fantastical Force powers came from.

This is where things get a little weird. In theory, Baby Yoda could be a clone of Yoda. We know cloning technology exists, thanks to Kamino and the clone army. The reasoning behind this cloning would be a little more hazy. Is it possible Yoda had himself cloned, so that he could help out in the future?

Or, was it Emperor Palpatine who cloned Yoda in hopes of making himself a highly powerful apprentice. In the expanded universe books, which are now part of the Star Wars Legends story and no longer canon, we know that Palpatine had an affinity for cloning and cloned himself many times.

While some of these theories may be a little out there, its important to remember that we dont necessarily have to stop calling The Asset Baby Yoda, but the better guess is that its just a new character of the same species. Still, The Clients crony Dr. Pershing did look like he was wearing Kamino paraphernalia in the premiere...

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When The Mandalorian takes place and what it means for Baby Yoda - Polygon

Welcome back, dear reader, to your one-stop-shop for all the latest and greatest theories and analysis following the airing of HBOs Watchmen S1E5 Little Fear of Lightning. As a reminder, this article will be chock-full of spoilers. Ive scrubbed internet forums, YouTube videos, podcasts, preview clips, and various interviews, so you dont have to. Be forewarned; if its publicly available, well be talking about it here.

If thats not your cup of tea, you might rather check out 25YLs weekly recap and review written by Laura Stewart this week.

Still here? Great! Chop-chop, everyone! Come on! Time is of the essence!

Here we review some of the real-world history that the series is pointing us to. Not much to talk about this week, but in anticipation of next weeks episode, with Angela Abar tripping through her grandfathers memories, heres at least one historical event we have a hint (see the PeteyPedia section) that we would do well to brush up on:

Three new files in the PeteyPedia files this week:

Yet another source of in-world data dumps has been HBO EXTRAS, an app for HBO Digital Latin America that gives additional background information at seemingly random times throughout the episode. Reddit user u/Bbkoul has been capturing images from these popups and posting them. The Episode 5 popups are mostly fluff unfortunately, but theyre mildly entertaining to read.

Speaking of background material from HBO, heres an interesting tidbit. Someone else on Reddit dug up a two year old casting call for Watchmen that gives a little blurb describing most of the main characters on the show. Whats changed is changed now, but this provides some interesting background on early thoughts about the characters and their stories. Worth taking a look.

In the closed captions (at least as captured by the wonderful Springfield! Springfield! site), when the Game Warden suddenly moves to cut Adrians helmet off, it reads (CLONES EXCLAIM). When Adrian declares that their god has abandoned them, the (CLONES EXCLAIM) once again. OK, yes, the closed captions are often wrong. But still.

We did have verifiable clones in this episode, in the form of the cloned animals at the Forever Pet clinic where Cynthia, Wades ex, works. The best meme of the week on Reddit is Heath Ledgers Joker saying, Drop fetuses on a lake and no one bats an eye. Drop a puppy in the incinerator and everybody loses their minds. Its also noteworthy that there seem to be a lot of twins working at that facility. Is human cloning a thing in this Watchmen universe? And if so, are they as cavalier about disposing of them?

In the wacky theories about who could be a clone department, one new and slightly interesting one did pop up on Reddit proposing that Angela actually did die on White Night, and that the Angela weve been seeing is a Nostalgia-fueled clone of her. I would write this off if I hadnt listened to an interview with Regina King (Angela Abar) did for the Previously On podcast from Sky Atlantic. Trying to avoid spoilers (yeah right), the host asks her, Ive just watched the season finale, how am I feeling? She answers, Um, youre feeling like, what?! No!! Is she Keep an eye on Angela, Im telling you.

So, if we believe Senator Keene (does Wade?), he came in after White Night to take over the Seventh Kavalry, and at the same time his buddy Judd took over the police. Since then, theyve each managed their respective teams to maintain the peace. So much for the masks save lives slogan of the Senators upcoming presidential campaign. More like conspiracies save lives, but thats not a very good campaign slogan to run on.

Also, if he is to be believed, he apparently has no idea who killed Judd. That wasnt part of their plan. He actually suspects Angela might have done it, or at least she knows who did (hes right on that last part). So, assuming he truly is in control of the Seventh Kavalry, it really wasnt them who killed the police chief. That tracks with the interrogation campaign the police has been conducting, which has yielded absolutely f**king nothing, as Laurie admonishes.

The Seventh Kavalry is definitely going to do something. Something original. Something that will presumably happen in a couple of days, because thats how long Keene needs Angela off the board while he wraps things up. Of course, Lady Trieu and Will Reeves are also going to do something in three days. Same thing? Well now, thats a good question.

We know Will Reeves was involved in Judds death. Hes the killer, in fact, if he is to be believed. That would seem to put the Keene-Crawford faction against the Trieu-Reeves faction. If we consider that Judd knew he was sacrificing himselfdulling the fear with cocaine, dressing in his full uniform, taking none of his subordinates with himwe have to consider the idea that maybe he flipped sides.

One of Keenes 7K guys stepped out of line and shot a cop, but it could have stopped there. Judd is the one who upped the ante on the police side of things. He authorized the release of guns, a move that he expected pushback from Angela on. Hes the one who pressed the Archie to its limits to blow up the 7K plane before it got away. Maybe whatever Keene is up to was unknown to Judd, or at least not agreed to. Maybe Trieu-Reeves clues him in on it and devises a counter plan, but it requires a sacrifice. Maybe Judd has some blood on his hands over White Night or Vietnam. Enough guilt to motivate his sacrifice for a larger goodto fall on one last grenade to save his people.

Could they all be in league together? We cant rule it out yet, but it seems unlikely. On one side, we have two white guys, controlling the two oppressing powers of white supremacy and government-sanctioned brutality. On the other side, we have the oppressed minorities, dealing with pharmaceuticals that share generational trauma. Do their timelines coincide because one is trying to stop the other then? Maybe, but it seems like they both have positive goals in mind. More likely one side is unknowingly playing patsy to the other, i.e. Trieu is using Keene.

We talked a bit last week about what Trieu could be up to with the Millennium Clock, so lets turn to what the 7K could be up to with the teleportation window. Theyre tuning it for a fairly close-in operation that needs precision. Theyre dropping objects from the ceiling, so its doubtful they are sending people. Besides, last we heard, this technology scrambles and kills organic creatures, and this is a model that was in use back in 1985. Sounds like precision bomb-dropping into a building or set of buildings. While it could be a government building, like maybe trying to complete what McVeigh was stopped from doing in 1995 (by Laurie Blake, mind you), there is one obvious tall structure in Tulsa that would make an excellent target for toppling.

This is our recurring section devoted to the best bits of Watchmen (IMHO), those involving the character formerly known as probably who you think he is. We now have two avenues to explore, present-day Veidt and 1985 Veidt. Lets start with the latter.

In his video message to the newly elected President Redford, Veidt starts with, Assuming my instructions have been followed to the letter. That implies he anticipated that he might not be around to deliver the tape in person. Interesting.

People are a bit freaked out by the idea that Veidt would leave evidence implicating himself in the giant squid hoax. They are saying this would not have been smart for the smartest man in the world to have doneeven going so far as to call it a retcon. I dont see it that way at all. Especially in light of the idea that he anticipated not being present to see phase two of his plan carried out. A phase two that apparently starts with the election of President Robert Redford, after allowing the world sufficient time to heal. He gives the video to Redford in order to win him over as a willing partner in that project.

In the video, Adrian says that hell have to maintain the peace with additional small-scale extra-dimensional events, which most are presuming refers to the squid-fall. If the tape implies he knew he might not be around, he may have set up something to keep the squid-fall going in his absence, even 30+ years later.

Now lets turn to the present day (more or less) Adrian Veidt. First of all, we now know hes on Europa, one of the four larger moons of Jupiter. Lindelof has confirmed this. Im amazed by how many quick turn-around podcasts mistook that looming planet in the background (those who even noticed it) for Mars or even Earththe astronomy geek in me wept a bit at that. The imaging satellite he was aiming for is likely Juno, which launched in 2011 and arrived in orbit in 2016 (in our world, at least). Time enough for Veidt to have been aware of it, assuming he left in 2012. Though counting on there being no issues with its final deployment upon arrival at Jupiter was a bit presumptive.

Its also clear now that he is in some sort of cloaked vivarium on that moon. Hmm, who likes to build vivariums in harsh environments? Oh, I know: Adrian Veidt. So dig this, assuming thats right, what Lindelof has done here is show us that Adrian Veidt was already working on phase two (or three) of his plan: getting humanity off-planet. We were shown this at the end of the Watchmen comic and just didnt know what we were seeing. If this is where they are going, and Id wager it is, thats the most amazing inclusion of the original source material yet.

This ties in with the PeteyPedia article from the New Frontiersman where the editor suggests at the end that the white supremacists get their butts to Mars. Heck, that might have even been something Adrian has planted into the public discourse to seed acceptance of the idea of colonization once it is revealed. Figuring that he cant resolve humanitys internal conflicts, only put them on hold through the use of fear, the goal of this phase would be to give us breathing room to dispel conflict. This would also explain why the Appropriations Committee (of which Senator Keene is a member) would be shown the Adrian Veidt video because they would need to be quietly funnelling funding from anti-squid defence to future colonization projects.

The one hard thing to distil out of this though is Veidts disdain for the maker, that god of the Philips / Crookshanks clones who has abandoned them. Maybe Veidt didnt work on those bits, having help from Dr. Manhattan (who wanted to work on creating life) or Lady Trieu (who works on cloning and fertility technology). Although Veidt does call their god a he, so probably not Lady Trieu. But labeling Dr. Manhattan as a god just seems a tad too obvious, right? The other possibility is (I hate to say it) this Veidt is a clone sent to babysit the prototype colony and his disdain is for the original Veidt, who got plastic surgery and retired to Argentina.

One last thing to discuss is Adrians message: SAVE ME D Everyone wants to know what the rest of that message is. Guesses include:

Theres a theory thats gaining traction, especially with me, that Lady Trieu could, in some manner, be working towards getting revenge for the United States actions in the Vietnam War. Certainly with Lady Trieu, Angela, and Cal all having ties back to Vietnam, our 51st state is going to become more of an influence on the story soon.

Laurie was requested by name to come to Oklahoma to lead the FBI investigation into Judd Crawfords death. Weve seen a future clips scene of Laurie tied to a chair in what is likely the same 7K headquarters in the abandoned department store, with another big red eye logo on the wall behind her. If someone were targeting Laurie, that would be a strike against both the Comedian, as his daughter, and Dr. Manhattan, as his former lover. As Wade puts it in his conversation with the radiologist at the bar, technically, Dr. Manhattan won Vietnam. Laurie could be the bait that would finally motivate Dr. Manhattan to return to Earth to save herstepping into a trap.

That would even say that Judds hanging was set into motion specifically to get Laurie to Oklahoma. Added bonus: Judd fought in Vietnam. A lot of us cant shake the nagging feeling that Judd knew he was going to his death, as I mentioned above. He was making a sacrifice for some larger good.

Instead of a trap to kill Dr. Manhattan, what if the empathy bomb (as many are calling this theory; we talked about it last week) is targeting him specifically, not the world at large? Trying to get him to care about humanity again, to step in and start helping. Maybe this is phase three of Veidts plan.

Speaking of the empathy bomb theory, some more support for this idea came when the guy in Wades support group talked about genetic trauma, locked into his mothers DNA so that he inherits her pain ten years later. Sounds just like what Bian is tapping into with her dream of the Vietnam War. We also got a data dump in the PeteyPedia files on the drug Nostalgia that, if nothing else, tells us that memory transfer is a real thing in this universe. Although like teleportation in the original Watchmen, its a dangerous technology that can go wrong and injure people when misused.

Many have commented on Lauries constant references to how good looking Cal is, humorously suggesting that Cal is Dr. Manhattan and thats why she is inexplicably attracted to him. If we assume though that, like everything else, Laurie already knew about his accident before she rolled into town, then perhaps it was a disfiguring accident and his recovery presents another one of those thermodynamic miracles. Maybe he was a masked vigilante in Vietnam and got injured doing so, which would be a good reason to want to hide it from Agent Blake. Perhaps he even died for a bit, which would explain why hes so confident that theres nothing after death.

In this section, Ill be pointing you to a few of the more interesting interviews with cast and crew:

In this section, I pose some of my own thoughts and any unique theories I might be harboring.

Firstly, a shout out to the Daily DVR podcast, which had me on Sunday night for their Initial Reaction podcast for this weeks episode. It was a blast, and I thank them so much for the opportunity. These guys are one of my go-to podcasts, doing three podcasts a week on each episode. Check them out.

Now on to the theories:

Thats it for this week. If you have any interesting theories or clever Easter eggs that I missed, let me know in the comments below, or catch me on Reddit as u/catnapspirit.

25YL is providing continual, in-depth coverage of HBOs Watchmen, including:

Help us keep the conversation alive! We publish new content daily that can easily be found by following us onTwitter,Instagram, by joining ourFacebook Page, our Forumsor becoming an email subscriber here onthe site. Thank you as always for your support of 25YL!

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Behind the Mask: Theories and Analysis for Watchmen S1E5 - 25YearsLaterSite.com

Ever since Daisy Ridley first appeared onscreen in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, fans have wondered about the origins of Rey and speculated that she might be a clone of some famous Jedi or Sith. Even after The Last Jedi revealed that she came from nothing, the mystery of Rey has only grown stronger, and a few subtle clues from Lucasfilms new live-action Star Wars show The Mandalorian could provide fodder for one of the most far-out theories yet about Reys origins ahead of a potential huge reveal in Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.

Could Rey share some DNA with Yoda? It might sound ridiculous, but if you look carefully, the evidence is there to back this theory up.

Spoilers for The Mandalorian and speculation about The Rise of Skywalker ahead.

In case youve been hiding in a sarlacc pit and havent seen The Mandalorian yet, heres what you need to know. In the shows first episode, we learn that the main character (an anonymous bounty hunter played by Pedro Pascal) has been hired to find and retrieve a baby from the same green furry species as Yoda. Then, in Episode 2, it turns out this baby Yoda can already use the Force.

Meanwhile, one fan spotted an interesting detail about the scientist whos working with Werner Herzog. His outfit sports the same emblem seen on all the Jango Fett clones on Kamino back in the Star Wars prequels, which seems like pretty clear proof that hes a cloner with his sights set on the Yoda baby.

It seems likely that this scientist simply wants to clone the Yoda baby and create more Force-sensitive creatures. However, its also possible that his plan could be more complicated.

In the non-canonical Star Wars Legends universe, the Empire banned any and all research into midi-chlorians but allowed some top-secret research into the cloning of Force-sensitive creatures and how the process affected their midi-chlorian levels. This facility was controlled by Grand Admiral Thrawn, who was recently brought back into the Star Wars canon in a series of new books starting in 2017. So its possible some of that research happened in the current Star Wars canon. The scientist from The Mandalorian could even be from Thrawns secret cloning facility.

What does this mean? Well, if the scientists plan is to clone the Yoda baby or harness its midi-chlorians and give them to some other clone, that means there could be another powerful Force-user out somewhere in the galaxy with Yoda species DNA, potentially making it one of the most powerful beings around.

Sound familiar?

Sure, a lot of this is a stretch, but with Reys origins still a big mystery, and all the evidence suggesting The Rise of Skywalker will retcon her backstory in some way, this could be as good an explanation as any other. At the very least, The Mandalorian seems to be subtly reminding us that cloning is a key theme in the Star Wars franchise just ahead of Episode IXs release. And that cant just be a coincidence, can it?

The Mandalorian airs Fridays on Disney+. The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters on December 20.

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'Star Wars 9' theory: 'Mandalorian' cloning could retcon Rey's origins - Inverse

Watchmen Episode 4, If You Dont Like My Story, Write Your Own introduces the mysterious Lady Trieu, played by Hong Chau. She invites herself into the home of a lovely and loving Oklahoma couple and offers them an outrageous deal. Since the two have never been able to conceive a child of their own, even after visiting her fertility clinics, she will gift them a child and $5 million if they sign over their family farm right there on the spot. The wife is skeptical, horrified even by the offer. However, then Lady Trieu reveals that shes not going to make them a baby; she already has created a child that is biologically theirs. Should they decline her generous offer, the baby will grow up in an adopted home, never to know who their real family was or what legacy they were apart of.

Impulsively the couple signs the contract and takes the swaddled infant into their arms. Immediately Lady Trieu leads them and her own daughter to the porch to watch something fall from the heavens and land on their land. When asked what that is, Lady Trieu says it is hers now since its on the land she just bought.

Its a spectacular start to the episode, introducing us not only to a fascinating new character and instigating a whole new mystery, but also complicating what has become a bigger thematic element in Watchmen: cloning.

Yeah, we need to talk about all the clones in tonights episode of Watchmen.

Its a disturbing sight to be sure. Even Veidt has to drown out the clones pained screams with pop music and a bite of cake. He wont even take responsibility for them, confiding that he is their master but not their maker.

If Veidt has managed to create a makeshift cloning facility on his manor grounds, then what could a trillionaire like Lady Trieu pull off with all the literal resources in the world? Its worth noting that in HBOs supplemental Peteypedia files, its revealed that Veidts genetically engineered lynx Bubastis from the comics helped pave the way for cloning pets in this timeline. Theres nothing said about human cloning, but we know from the Veidt vignettes that it is possible.

Its also heavily hinted that Lady Trieu knows how to clone humans. First, she can use the genetic material of the infertile couple from the episodes cold open to create a child that is biologically theirs. Then theres the issue of Lady Trieus own daughter, Bian (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport).

Weve seen Bian a few times before on the show, but its her last scene in tonights episode that raises alarm. She wakes up with a start and it seems shes hooked up to an Trieu Industries IV. Unsettled, she goes to her mother and recounts a visceral nightmare where she was in a village, but men came and burned it down. She was then forced to walk for miles. Most hauntingly, she says her feet still hurt.

So, uh, given that Lady Trieu can make babies using a parents specific biological code and Ozymandias is straight up creating clones out of a lagoon, is it a stretch to askis Bian a clone?

Legacy isnt in land, its in blood, passed to us from our ancestors and by us to our children, Lady Trieu says, noting that if you have no children, when you die, your legacy is extinct. Thats true, but if you could perpetually clone yourself (or your children), does that mean your legacy could last forever?

Then again, it cant be overstated how the two characters most associated with cloning Lady Trieu and Adrian Veidt are obsessed with the figure of Ozymandias. The irony is the historic ruler inspired a famous Percy Bysshe Shelley poem wherein Ozymandiass great works are reduced to ruins in the desert. The only words left on his great statue? Look on my works ye might and despair!

Shelleys point: even the greatest men and women cant ever truly preserve their legacy.

So again: Whats with the clones on Watchmen?

Where to stream Watchmen

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'Watchmen': How Lady Trieu May Connect to Ozymandias's Clone Factory - Decider

As The Mandalorian streams new episodes, we are working on putting clues together as to why so many people want the child.

We got a big reveal in the second episode. Warning: Spoilers ahead if you havent seen The Mandalorian yet.

When Baby Yoda used the Force, it managed to surprise a lot of folks, especially the Mandalorian and Kuill. The Force isnt something that is likely widely used as the galaxy had been purged of the Jedi decades before.

But the child using the Force is a big clue as to why its being chased. Yet it makes more sense when adding it with another piece of the puzzle from Chapter 1.

On Reddit, an eagle-eyed Star Wars fans noticed the patch on Dr. Pershings clothing. It looked awfully close like emblem from Kamino, the planet where the cloning facility was featured in Attack of the Clones.

Its easier to see the images here on the Reddit thread.

What does it mean? While we cant say for certain, it gives us an idea of what it could mean and why the Imperials would want a strong Force user whose aging process is slowed way more than other creatures.

It could have a tie-in to events of The Rise of Skywalker, but it may not. However, things are a little fishy when there is a Force user, a potential doctor with ties to cloning and Imperials involved. Jon Favreau could surprise us with where this is headed and I do expect there will be a twist or two on the way.

It seems Dr. Pershing would want Baby Yoda to clone him, which is why he wants him alive. A live subject is probably better than a dead one when it comes to cloning.

OR what if the Baby Yoda is a clone and Dr. Pershing wants it back, which is also why it would be acceptable to get it back dead?

However, it still lends to the questions of who was protecting Baby Yoda with all those armed guards and why do so many others want it dead?

What do you think of about The Mandalorian? Do you have a theory?

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The Mandalorian: Did Dr. Pershings patch give away his intentions? - Dork Side of the Force

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Mandalorian.

The Mandaloriandropped a huge surprise with the reveal a baby Yodaat the end of its first episode,and fans have already come up with all sorts of theories about its origins. One of the most interesting theories, however, posits that this new character is actually a clone.

Disney+'s inaugural show is created by Jon Favreau and revolves around the lone gunfighternamed Dyn Jarren, played by Pedro Pascal. The Mandalorian takes place five years after Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and gives us our first look at the aftermath of the Galactic Empire's fall following the Battle of Endor. "Chapter 1" which debuted the same day the streaming platform launched this week, focused on establishing the Mandalorian's character and his new mission. At the end of the outing, however, it was revealed the the asset he is tasked to go and get is an infant from the same species as Yoda.

Related:Star Wars: Everything We Know About Yoda's Species

Not much is known regarding Yoda's species - a deliberate creative decision from Star Wars creator George Lucas. So with the arrival of just the third member (the others being Yoda and Yaddle) of the diminutive green alien race, fans are naturally curious aboutwhere the baby came from. Onepopular theory is that it's actually a clone - a claim supported by some details revealed in The Mandalorian premiere.

Dyn's ongoing mission came from the mysterious character only referred to as The Client (Werner Herzog). While The Mandalorian didn't give any significant details, it's clear that he's a supporter of the Empire who's still trying to grapple at the remnants of its powers, as evidenced by the grimy Stormtroopers present during the meeting. He also seems to be workingwith a Kaminoan -Dr. Pershing (Omid Abtahi) who was noticeably wearing a Kamino patch spotted by a fan and shared on Twitter.

Kaminoans are isolationists from the aquatic planet Kamino, and their scientists are known for their cloning technology. They created the clone troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic, as well as the bio-chip that enabled Order 66, which lends credence to this theory - assuming that Dr. Pershing is indeed associated with them.

While The Mandalorian has kept The Client and Dr. Pershing's intentions towards the baby Yoda unclear for now, the two butt headsregardinghow Dyn can bring it back to them. The former doesn't mind whether it's dead or alive, as long as they get their hands on it, while the latter is insistent that it should be delivered to them without being harmed.This further supports the theory that the baby isn't disposable, potentially because it is a clone of Jedi Master Yoda.

Related:The Mandalorian Is Set 5 Years AFTER Return of the Jedi... So About That Twist

Aside from the involvement of Dr. Pershing, the timeline also seems to line up with the theory that baby Yoda is indeed a clone.While we didn't learn about the cloning until Star Wars: The Attack of the Clones (22 BBY), the process of perfecting the processwas already ongoing behind-the-scenes. In Star Wars canon, Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas initially ordered the creation of the Clone Army in 32 BBY, withthe project eventuallytaken over by Count Dooku, who provided them with the genetic template. However,it's possible that cloning dates back much earlier.

According to The Mandalorian, this infant is 50 years old. While Lucasfilm has limited information about the species, we know that they age slowly compared to other breeds. Case in point: Yoda died when he was 900 years old. This explains why the infant looks like he does,despite his biological age. Itmeans that baby Yoda came to life in 41 BBY - 10 years before the events of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, and interestingly,the same year Anakin Skywalker was supposedly conceived from the Force itself.

Related:Is The Mandalorian Disneys Biggest Betrayal Of Lucas Star Wars Vision?

While we don't know the scope in timeline that The Mandalorian's overall storywillcover,the show's official synopsis sets in in between the aftermath of the Galactic Empire's fall and before the emergence of the First Order. Season 2's principal photography is already in full swing, with rumbles about even a potential movie. Depending on how things pan out for the rest of the season, the introduction of this baby Yoda - who's also Force sensitive as confirmed in the show's second episode titled "The Child" - can mean big things for the franchise's future. So much so, it might even have an impact on the the ongoing sequel trilogy, particularly with regard to the mysterious narrative of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Assuming that baby Yoda survives the events of The Mandalorian, what are the chances that a grown-up version of the character pops out in The Rise of Skywalker? The concept sounds cool considering the film's theme of banding together to fight the Dark side, making sense of his re-emergence after years of not getting involved with the galaxy's pressing issues. However, with so many subplots left forEpisode IX to tackle, introducing this new character who can incite confusion about Jedi Master Yoda's current state might be deemed too much for the Skywalker saga capper.

That being said, it doesn't mean that his existence won't factor in The Rise of Skywalker's story, particularly if he's indeed linked to cloning practices in the franchise.If The Mandalorian's Dr. Pershing gets his hands on baby Yoda and theories about him being a Kaminoan turns out to be true, the chances of him trying to make another clone infant and/or exploit his Force abilities in the hopes of transferring it to someone else increase. Rey's origins continues to be a central mystery despite Star Wars: The Last Jedi downplaying her lineage. One of the more prevalent speculation about her is that she's a clone in conjunction to the reveal of Dark Rey. Meanwhile, another theory in conjunction to this revolves around Emperor Palpatine somehow getting his hands on the infant and using its physical body as his consciousness' host. This makes sense considering the species' ability to age slower, meaning, they can linger longer than a normal being. It's also worth noting that at this point, trailers for The Rise of Skywalker still hasn't shown us Palpatine's physical state despite the confirmation that he's integral to the story.

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WhetherThe Mandalorian's baby Yoda is a clone or not remains to be seen. However, with cloning practices in Star Wars once again becoming a hot topic of discussion for boththeir big andsmall screen offerings, it's difficult not to assume that it will somehow play a role in the franchise's current stories.

More:Why The Mandalorians Episodes Are So Short

The Mandalorian: Every Star Wars Easter Egg In Episode 2

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Star Wars Theory: The Mandalorians Baby Yoda Is A Clone - Screen Rant

Social media is not unique anymore. When Snapchat launched their stories features, every other social media platform went cahoots on this update and instantly launched cloned features for their users. The examples of such platforms are Facebook and Instagram.

Facebook has been in the business for about 15 years, with millions of active users. However, Facebook has still not fully visualized their platform, for instance, long texts still overshadow the video and audio content on Facebook. Users are not usually interested in reading paragraphs when they are tired or checking Facebook in their short breaks.

For Facebook to engage people more in their content, it is necessary to enhance visual communication. Since the whole social media is busy in cloning one another, Facebook is no less. To pursue this, Facebook is trying to introduce a Popular Photos feature on its platform where the text will be limited to only 65 characters and images will take most place. The interesting thing about the feature is that it visually looks a lot like Instagram interface.

So how does it work?

You can take an example from how you watch videos on Facebook. When we click on a video, we are directed to a black screen where we see a Watch more videos option that keeps us whipping through more and more content.

Facebook has not left any leaf unturned in promoting Facebook through Instagram. You will often see notifications from Instagram on Facebook to follow people. Apart from it, an Open Facebook feature is also added on the Instagram Navigation sidebar that lets the traffic direct to Facebook in an instant.

Facebook is just a few steps away from fully cloning Instagram and leveraging its own app to benefit the parent network. According to TechCrunch, Facebooks spokespersons have not commented on this newly tested feature, but it will eventually turn up.

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Facebook on the Road to Copy Instagram: Popular Photos in the Making - Digital Information World

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the Rick and MortySeason 4 premiere.

Season 4 of Rick and Morty kicks off with quite a bang as Morty accidentally killing Rick on a mission to Forbodulon Prime to steal some Death Crystals for the black market. This leads to the Operation Phoenix protocol Rick put in place a couple seasons ago being activated, allowing Rick to be cloned, except this clone wakes up in a different reality once Rick dies.

What ensues as the respectiveclones try to find their way home to the main Rick and Morty reality, however, basically confirms this project is definitely the universe's most dangerous weapon.

RELATED:Rick & Morty: Channel 4 Bumps Up UK Season Premiere to Appease Fans

Operation Phoenix first popped up in the second season, allowing Rick to transfer his consciousness into a clone called Tiny Rick so he could pretend to be a teen in high school to hunt vampires. The real Rick ended up takingMorty and his sister, Summer, down into the lab at the end of the episode and slaughtered the rest of the clones after realizing the process would drive them mad. He deemed the operation a failure but as we see here, he secretly kept it running and now, it's what revives him, in the vein of Edge of Tomorrow-- the tagline of which was "Live. Die. Repeat."

The episode title confirms this reference: "Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat," except, unlike the movie which starred Tom Cruise dying and reawakening in the past in a galactic war, every Rick clone wakes in a messed up reality. Now, all this could be avoided if Morty just clones Rick using theDNA he took from his grandad on Forbodulon Prime, but he doesn't want to as he knows Rick being alive will divert him away from his destiny of dying with his crush, Jessica, at his side.And so, the emergency protocol activates with the first Rick awakening in a fascist reality. He's taken prisoner by Fascist Morty, who puts a bullet in Fascist Rick, all to teach new Rick a lesson. But as they embark on a cosmic trip, they fight in their iconic spaceship and end up in the cold vacuum of space, floating dead.

RELATED:Rick and Morty Season 4 Premiere Pays Homage to 2 Japanese Sci-Fi Classics

The next Rick wakes up as a shrimp, but he too runs into a fascist world. Shrimp Rick diesthere, with Teddy Bear Rick then committing suicide upon his activation in another Nazi world. It seems no matter what, this program always lands Rick in an evil society, that is, until Rick wakes up as a wasp in a reality where Wasp Rick, Wasp Morty and their family are all normal. Rick 2.0 realizes it's an anomaly and Wasp Rick helps him get home, saving the mainstream Earth from the holographic Rick that was left behind to goad Morty into the proper cloning process.

Wasp Rick actually injects young ones into the-hologram-turned-monster, and these young onesthen proceed to eat the creature from the inside out. This is proof Rick and Morty can use Operation Phoenix to pull over allies from alternate realities. And as Wasp Rick shows, these individualscan indeed be powerful comrades in war once Rick and Morty select the right ones. However, given Wasp Worldwas the one-off case of a normal reality, Operation Phoenix clearly has a knack for fascist regimes.

RELATED:Rick And Morty: 10 Evil Morty Fan Theories We Hope Are True

This means if Rick or someone wicked wanted to, they could visit these worlds, form vile alliances, and bring them over to the mainstream reality. Rick always wanted to perfect the tool for good but he's clearly in shock as it turns out to be a weapon that leans towards evil through theseNazi realms. Still, the fact he doesn't destroy or decommission the project at least shows he recognizes its potential and could keep experimenting on it, which may well doom the galaxy in the near future.

New episodes of Rick and Morty air Sundays at 11:30 p.m. on Adult Swim.

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Rick and Morty: Operation Phoenix Is the Universe's Most Dangerous Weapon - CBR - Comic Book Resources

This article contains spoilers for Attack Of The Clones and the wider Star Wars series.

In hindsight, 2002s Attack Of The Clones had one of the hardest jobs of any chapter in the Skywalker Saga tasked with bridging the gap between young Anakins carefree podracer and the man who would become arguably the most feared baddie in movie history. On top of that, it was expected to spin a love story and a political thriller all at once. Simply put, the expectations were too great.

This second entry in the franchise once again written and directed by series creator George Lucas didnt break the same box-office records that The Phantom Menace did three years earlier. It wasnt even the top-grossing film of the year it was released, outperformed in the US by Peter Jacksons The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Tobey Maguires first outing as Spider-Man. Worldwide, it was trounced by fantasy franchise upstart Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets (Clones took $640 million, compared with Potters $870 million). Was the thirst for more Star Wars starting to make like Tatooine and dry up?

The trouble is that many of The Phantom Menaces issues ring true with its sequel, too. Jar Jar Binks role is smaller, but hes no less irritating, while the amount of CGI employed serves not only to make the entire film feel more sterile than a Kamino laboratory, but also hasnt aged particularly well. What does hold up is the movies soundtrack, once again composed by series legend John Williams in particular Across the Stars, which serves as the one bright point of a tragically mismanaged love story subplot, as well as the first use of The Imperial March in the series chronology.

Set 10 years on from The Phantom Menaces conclusion, Padm (Natalie Portman) hasnt aged a day and maintains an active role in galactic politics despite stepping down as the Queen of Naboo. After surviving an assassination attempt, shes re-introduced to a much older Anakin, this time played by everyones favourite whipping boy, Hayden Christensen. From there, Episode 2 does its best to juggle three separate subplots across its almost two-and-a-half hour runtime.

The first, Anakins transition to the Dark Side of the force, arguably takes a major backseat to his relationship with Padm. Our hero is brash, headstrong, and more than a little creepy (I dont think she liked me watching her, he claims while discussing Padms security detail in Coruscant), but its after a vivid nightmare and subsequent attempt to free his mother that he takes his first steps towards the Dark Side slaughtering Tusken Raiders en masse, including their children.

Unfortunately, the love angle doesnt offer too much chemistry. Natalie Portman is an excellent actress, but outside of a throwaway line or two, her relationship with Christensens Anakin never feels real, and therefore the stakes never feel high and thats without the horrendous writing and delivery of the now meme-famous sand conversation (you know the one).

More interesting is the political storm brewing in the Galactic Senate, as Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) begins making moves to grant himself emergency powers. Unfortunately, most of this is told through clunky exposition, as George Lucas again opts to tell the audience rather than show them.

Where the film does deliver is in finally showing us the power of the Jedi and the numbers that they operated in at their peak. In the final battle on Geonosis, dozens of Jedi can be seen swinging their lightsabers, and even poor framing aside, it feels good to finally see these legendary warriors working as a team. Sith Lord Count Dooku (aka Darth Tyranus), a new addition to the franchise, steals the show thanks to a scenery-chewing performance from the late, great, Christopher Lee. Hes more than enough for a Jedi or two, but more on that later.

We also find ourselves introduced to fan-favourite Boba Fett, albeit as a surly pre-teen with a pretty cool Mandalorian dad, Jango who serves as the basis for the titular clones. These turn out to be early incarnations of everyones favourite Imperial footsoldiers, the Stormtroopers. These white-clad warriors somehow have much better aim than their successors though, making short work of the bugs and droids on Geonosis.

Seeing them battle alongside Yoda and the other Jedi is one of the movies greatest moments,but sadly comes almost two hours in. In fact, Tusken slaughter aside, the only other real action sequence of note is the early Coruscant chase, which offers a much deeper look at the capital of the Republic. Its sad, then, that the only space action here is Obi-Wan tailing Jango within an asteroid belt although Episode 3 thankfully offers a hefty battle early on which does mitigate things somewhat.

Thats arguably Attack Of The Clones' biggest issue it has toomuch of a gap to bridge. In attempting to put forward three cohesive plotlines, it ends up offering three barely functioning ones and thats without mentioning the wooden dialogue, ill-advised CGI, and Hayden Christensens stunted delivery. Despite a handful of redeeming qualities (Christopher Lee being a very big one), Clones remains something of a low point for the Star Wars franchise.

Best lightsaber bit: The clash between Jedi Knights and Battle Droids in the arena on Geonosis is fun, but the clear standout is Obi-Wan and Anakin taking on Count Dooku. The elder Sith Lord is more than a match for both Jedi, and ends up lopping off Anakins hand and incapacitating Obi-Wan before Yoda turns up to save their hides and show off some nifty, yo-yo like combat moves. Not bad for a Jedi Master in his 800s.

Best non-lightsaber bit: The vertiginous flying car chase sequence through the 'streets' of Coruscant, seemingly miles above the ground, offers the movies first action scene and its a doozy as Obi-Wan and Anakin hunt down shapeshifting would-be assassin Zam Wesell.

Jedi wisdom: As much as we want to go with the fact that sand is coarse (thanks for that, Anakin), well go with a salient piece of wisdom from Obi-Wan: Trust your feelings then, you will be invincible If only Instagram existed in the galaxy far, far away, the Jedi would be cleaning up in the inspirational life-advice stakes.

Rules of the Force: Aside from the usual abilities to run, somersault and use the Force Push, we get the impression that Jedi are immune to hurting themselves from long falls. In the initial Coruscant chase, Anakin and Obi-Wan both fall huge distances before landing on different speeders. Either the vehicles are made of foam, or the Jedi have protective powers that prevent them from meeting a splattery end like a fly on a windshield. We also learn a little bit more about the corruptive pull of the Dark Side of the Force as Yoda explains of former Jedi (and his old Padawan) Dooku, lies, deceit, creating mistrust are his ways now" and get our first look at the Sith's ablility to project Force lightning.

Who has a bad feeling about this? Anakins the one with the dodgy premonition this time, and hes quite right to be wary its when he and his comrades are being prepared for execution by a trio of big beasties in the arena on Geonosis.

Galactic stop-offs: Theres plenty of sightseeing to be done, although in terms of new destinations the key ones are Kaminos cloning labs suspended above stormy seas, Geonosis network of caves and bug-tunnels (and huge gladiatorial arena, of course), and an asteroid belt somewhere between the two. Returning from The Phantom Menace are Coruscant (although we get to see a lot more of it here), Tatooine and Naboo.

Who wins?It's a draw. This feels like the most 50/50 ending of the saga, with arguments to be made for both sides (Yoda, for one, doesnt accept victory). Anakin is wounded, and has been corrupted into taking his first steps towards the Dark Side, but hes also married to Padm albeit in secret, away from the Jedi Council. Meanwhile, Dooku is shown to have the plans for a certain planet-destroying space station, and Palpatine has more power than any Supreme Chancellor before him. Its OK though, because the Clone Troopers will keep us safe, right?

You can read all of our Star Wars recaps here.

What did you think of Attack of the Clones? Are there any other aspects of it that you love, any that you didn't, or anything that weve missed? Let us know in the comments below!

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The Star Wars movies debrief: Attack Of The Clones recap, legacy and best bits - Den of Geek UK

Dr Pascoal Carvalho addressed the 21st convention of Indias Catholic nurses in Mumbai. He spoke about the ethical aspects of genetic engineering, citing the doctrine of the Church towards human cloning and stem cells. Respect for human dignity must prevail from conception to natural death.

Mumbai (AsiaNews) Medical innovation, which increasingly uses modern technologies to improve life, should not attempt to artificially replicate creation, said Dr Pascoal Carvalho, a doctor from Mumbai and a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, speaking at the 21st convention of Catholic nurses (8-10 November).

In his address on 9 November, he referred to therapeutic cloning, stem cells and modified human DNA before an audience of more than 200 Catholic health workers.

"[W]e can rest assured in the wisdom of the Church," he said, because for her, The dignity of a person must be recognized in every human being from conception to natural death.

Some areas of medical research that raise serious moral and ethical questions touch stem cells, embryos and DNA.

In his view, today There is a growing threat of overestimating genetic modification techniques and underestimating the repercussions of cloning and human gene therapy.

On the one hand, we have the positive results of therapeutic cloning aimed at organ and tissues reconstructed in laboratory for transplanting into patients to reduce the risk of rejection; on the other, reproductive cloning, like in the case of Dolly the sheep, seeks to reproduce living beings.

He warns against research that leads to alterations in an organisms DNA, like the famous case of the Chinese scientist who in 2018 said that he had created two twins in the laboratory immune to the HIV virus. This kind of experiment can reduce life expectancy and increase susceptibility to other, and perhaps more common, diseases.

The doctor cites the Dignitas Personae, which defines any attempt at human cloning as unacceptable, because it represents a serious offense to the dignity of the person and fundamental equality between men.

As for therapeutic cloning, To create embryos with the intention of destroying them, even with the intention of helping the sick, is completely incompatible with human dignity, because it makes the existence of a human being at the embryonic stage nothing more than a means to be used and destroyed. It is gravely immoral to sacrifice a human life for therapeutic ends.

Citing the doctrine of the Church, Dr Carvalho stresses the importance of the method with which stem cells are taken. In his view, Methods which do not cause serious harm to the subject from whom the stem cells are taken are to be considered licit.

This is generally the case when tissues are taken from: a) an adult organism; b) the blood of the umbilical cord at the time of birth; c) foetuses who have died of natural causes.

Overall, the doctor believes that modern gene technologies raise new moral questions, whilst attempts to create a new type of human being contains an ideological element in which man tries to take the place of his Creator.

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INDIA Indian doctor: Medical innovation should not try to replace the Creator - AsiaNews