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Sifo-Who? Examining the Mysteries of Attack of the Clones

Here I hope to address and explain the scriptural origins behind the existance of Sifo-Dyas, Kamino and the cloned Army of the Republic that is at the center of both the downfall of the Republic and the destruction of the Jedi, uncovering Lucas' initial thought processes which may shed light on various ambiguities apparent in the films.

One of the central plot points of Attack of the Clones--in fact, the singular driving story thread--is the one which revolves around the clone army. Surrounding this point is a complicated mystery--one that, confoundingly, is never followed up on. Indeed, it seems as though Lucas just plum forgot about it when it came time to write Revenge of the Sith--the issue is never mentioned or referenced, and someone who hadn't seen Episode II would never be aware that there was a serious and trecherous conspiracy surrounding the origins of the clones. Viewers, of course, can deduce on their own that Sidious and/or Dooku were behind the whole event. But nonetheless, the main plot of Attack of the Clones is essentially a detective mystery without any climax, pay-off or resolution.

The clone conspiracy, as it exists on the film, also introduces a number of logic and character curiosities: namely, that the Jedi seem inept in response to the issue, and secondly, that the solving of the mystery itself is straightforward. To start, it seems unusual that the existance of the clone army could remain a mystery--the Kaminoans have created an army on behalf of the Republic itself, but without any communication between them and official Republic lines in over a decade; the Kaminoans even express doubt that the Republic was still accepting the order ("we'd begun to wonder when you'd show up," Taun We says), making it even stranger that there was never any attempt at contact. Beyond this, of course, is a trail of evidence that shouldn't sit right with anyone: Why would a Jedi secretly order an army for the Republic? Obi Wan even says that this Jedi, Sifo-Dyas, to the best of his recollection, died before the order was placed. Mace Windu seems to acknowledge this possibility: "whoever made the order was not on the Jedi council." A simple check could confirm if Sifo-Dyas was indeed dead before the order was placed, meaning we should take the uncontradicted opinion of Obi Wan as fact. This then means that Sifo-Dyas' identity was used as an alias. Furthermore, it is learned that the clone template is a bounty hunter named Jango Fett.

Here then we have the main issue of suspicion: why would somone use the identity of a dead Jedi as an alias? Why would someone be creating a clone army on behalf of the Republic? How coincidental is it that this order is placed so as to be ready just as when pro-war voters are requesting an army, and that it is ready just as a Seperatist threat arises? These would be enough to raise alarm bells, but there are also other unresolved issues: was Sifo-Dyas murdered? Who is the "Tyranus" that Jango Fett says hired him in the first place? Who erased the Jedi archives and how did they gain access to the inner temple? Is a traitor behind the clones? Was it really Sifo-Dyas, but then he was assassinated by a higher puppet master?

That the Jedi do not comment on any of these issues, nor act upon them (as Revenge of the Sith implies--it seems as though they must have forgotten about them, since the audience requires a resolution yet none is given) is quite strange. Yoda says, "meditate on this, I will," but all he does is go to Kamino and take the mysterious clone army for himself to use.

Finally, solving the riddle seems quite easy. The clone army was ordered ten years earlier. Dooku, as it happens, left the Jedi order ten years earlier. Dooku is now part of the Seperatists, and a Sith as is revealed by the end. The most basic explanation then is that Dooku joined the Sith, ordered the clones using Sifo-Dyas' name (possibly even killed him), erased Kamino from the archives, left the Jedi order and spearheaded the Seperatist threat. This then raises its own set of questions, like why are the Seperatists building an army for the Republic, and why they would go through the trouble of placing the order in the name of the Jedi instead of simply getting it made for themselves?

However, the final film had some of these elements added in pick up shooting that complicated this plot much more from its original form--more than Lucas was ready to address, it seems. In the original script--and the original edit of the film--things are much simpler: there is no Sifo-Dyas. Rather, Sidious himself orders the clones using an alias; there are no ties to a former Jedi who actually existed, and no mystery about how a Jedi could have placed an order. The shooting script introduces the issue

LAMA SU

And now to business. You will be

delighted to hear we are on

schedule. Two hundred thousand

units are ready, with another

million well on the way.

OBI-WAN

(improvising)

That is... good news.

LAMA SU

Please tell your Master Sido-Dyas

that we have every confidence his

order will be met on time and in

full. He is well, I hope?

OBI-WAN

I'm sorry Master - ?

LAMA SU

Jedi Master Sido-Dyas. He's still

a leading member of the Jedi

Council, is he not?

OBI-WAN

Oh, yes. Sido-Dyas.

LAMA SU

(rising)

You must be anxious to inspect the

units for yourself.

OBI-WAN

That's why I'm here.

Here, the mystery man is named Sido-Dyas. While claiming to be a Jedi, there is in fact no such person:

OBI-WAN (V.O.)

...I've never heard of a Jedi

called Sido-Dyas, have you, Master?

MACE WINDU

No. Whoever placed that order was

not a Jedi, I can assure you.

OBI-WAN (V.O.)

I have a strong feeling that this

bounty hunter is the assassin

we're looking for.

YODA

Who he is working for... discover

that, you must.

OBI-WAN (V.O.)

I will, Master, and I will also

find out more about this clone

army... May The Force...

The hologram switches off, and OBI-WAN fades away.

WINDU

A clone army! Ordered by someone

in the Senate perhaps... Someone's

out to start a war.

YODA

Inform the chancellor of this, we

must.

WINDU

Who do you think this impostor

Sido-Dyas, could be?

In this version of the film, the Jedi are shown to suspect and acknowledge that the creation of the army may be a ploy to foster the impending war. Unlike the final film, which points to Dooku as the culprit and thus should evoke strong suspicions about the war�s motivation (ie that is a ruse where both sides are manipulated by the Sith), here the Jedi�s motivation is explained clearer: they believe that it is a member of the Senate who is in favor of propagating the war that ordered the clones for the Republic(remember, the senate is equally split in its pro-war and anti-war supporters, so this is logical and likely), but that he used an alias and claimed to be a Jedi in order to protect his identity.

In another scene it is explained that Sido-Dyas requested the Kaminoans keep the clone army a secret, explaining how the Kaminoans developed an army on behalf of the Republic for an entire decade without any communication through official lines. The motivation of why Sidious or Dooku would go through the trouble of framing the Republic and the Jedi as the progenitors of the clone order, rather than just ordering it on behalf of the Seperatists is explained�the Kamino cloners would never have created an army if they knew it was for the Seperatists.

OBI-WAN

(carefully)

Tell me, prime minister, when my

Master Sido-dyas first contacted

you, did he say the order was

for... himself... or?

LAMA SU

Himself? Of course not. This

army is for the Republic?

OBI-WAN

(astonished)

The Republic?

LAMA SU

We are also very much agasint this

Count Dooku and his seccessionist

movement. We are proud to be of

help to the Republic.

The name Sido-Dyas was too obvious, at least for the audience�s sake�Lucas wanted the identity to be kept a mystery, but you wouldn�t need to be Sherlock Holmes to realise that Sido-Dyas is just a lazy variation on Sidious. Instead, Lucas re-wrote dialog in pick-up scenes to not only drift the name further away from the Sidious origin, but to throw audiences off the trail by asserting that this character actually existed and was personally known to the protagonists of the film. Watch the first scene between Obi Wan and Lama Su and spot the additional McGregor shots--whenever he mentions the name Sifo-Dyas he suddenly grows a false beard. It seems, however, that Lucas was not quite prepared to deal with all the issues he raised in making this change, as the central mystery of Attack of Clones basically remains ignored.

Reading the original shooting script to Attack of the Clones, I was surprised to find that the plot comes across suprisingly coherant, and motivation is much more clearly built up, with a more detailed and interesting political intrigue involving the characters and more issues followed up on and explained. Lucas cut most of it out because it was talky--and then he added the entire droid factory fight to amp up the action. Perhaps the manner in which he directed it did not get across the drama he intended.

One of the more interesting aspects is the build-up to the war and the Jedi and Republic's ultimate involvement. Here the Jedi, Chancellor Palpatine, and senators such as Bail Organa and Jar Jar Binks (who has learned to speak normally), discover that the Seperatists on Geonosis have built up a massive droid army. The Jedi--believing, at that time, that the clone army was created by a senator, and not some mystery Jedi--show support for using the clone army to stop the Seperatists, as it is a desperate time that calls for immediate action. Palpatine agrees to use his Emergency Powers to authorize the army if the Senate will grant them to him, but the Jedi cannot wait for the vote to pass and so they send a squad of 200 Jedi to fight the Seperatists. Though this force is not nearly enough, it is all they can do.

INT. CORUSCANT, CHANCELLOR'S OFFICE
A hologram of OBI-WAN flickers in front of a group, made up of Jedi (YODA, MACE WINDU, and KI-ADI-MUNDI) and Senators (BAIL ORGANA, ASK AAK, LUMINARA, and JAR JAR). PALPATINE and MAS AMEDDA are in the middle of the group, watching with growing concern.

OBI-WAN
...Starships from the Trade
Federation and the Commerce Guilds
are taking deliveries of battle
droids from the foundries on
Geonosis.

BAIL ORGANA
That's outrageous! The treaty
forbids the Trade Federation from
building up an army. What are
they doing?!

OBI-WAN
The droid foundry seems to be
working at full capacity. I am
going to go down and investigate.
I will bring Jango Fett back home
for interrogation.

PALPATINE
Those Geonosian foundries are part
of the Techno Union. We will call
in their representatives and ask
them a few very pointed questions.

OBI-WAN
One more thing. Jango mentioned
he was recruited by someone named
Darth Tyranus. Any idea who that
might be?

YODA
With the forename Darth, a Sith he
must be.

MACE WINDU
Our missing apprentice. They are
playing their hand at last.

OBI-WAN
Do you believe he could be the
mysterious Sido-Dyas, who made the
deal for the clone army?

YODA
Perhaps too many pieces are missing
from this puzzle, there are.

MACE WINDU
Be careful, Obi-Wan. This
investigation is becoming less
than routine. Do you need help?

OBI-WAN
Let me see if I can figure out
what's going on first.

The hologram of OBI-WAN fades off. PALPATINE stares at the spot where the hologram was in disbelief.

BAIL ORGANA
The Commerce Guilds are preparing
for war... there can be no doubt
of that.

PALPATINE
Count Dooku must have made a
treaty with them.

MACE WINDU
We must stop them soon before
they're fully ready.

SENATOR ASK AAK
The debate is over, we need
that clone army now!

BAIL ORGANA
Unfortunately, the debate is not
over. The Senate will never be
able to approve the use of that
army before the separatists
attack.

Mas Amedda, who had been silent up until now suddenly speaks up.

MAS AMEDDA
This is a crisis! If the Senate
votes the Chancellor emergency
powers, he could approve the use
of the army in a minute.

PALPATINE
Please, please, I don't wish to
have emergency powers. That's too
extreme a solution. It's akin to
a dictatorship. We must rely on
the Jedi. Master Yoda, how many
are available to go to Geonosis?

MACE WINDU and YODA look at one another.

YODA
Two Hundred,... less or more.

BAIL ORGANA
With all due respect for the Jedi
Order, two hundred will be no
match for hundreds of thousands of
battle droids.

MACE WINDU
Patience. We should wait for Obi-
Wan to report back. We don't know
that Count Dooku has made a treaty
with the Corporate Alliance, it's
speculation.

SENATOR ASK AAK
But we must prepare for the worst.
I'm going to propose a motion
granting emergency powers to the
Chancellor at the next session. We
must not wait!

PALPATINE
Out of the question, Senator! You
and I are too closely aligned.
The issue will become partisan and
debates will begin. The proposal
must come from a neutral source.

MAS AMEDDA
If only Senator Amidala were here.

JAR JAR steps forward from the back of the group.

JAR JAR
Supreme Chancellor... my august
colleagues, I would be proud to
propose the motion in question.
This is a grave situation, and I'm
sure Senator Amidala, and the
Queen of Naboo would agree.

SENATOR ASK AAK
Thank you, Representative Binks.

Silence. Then PALPATINE sighs deeply.

PALPATINE
If called upon, I will serve. But
it will be the saddest day of my
life.

Shortly later, Kenobi reveals that the Seperatists parties have made an alliance and plan for war, and the Jedi send a squad to Geonsis while the army is voted upon.

INT. CORUSCANT, JEDI TEMPLE, COUNCIL CHAMBER - DAY
The JEDI COUNCIL are assembled as MACE WINDU makes his plea.

MACE WINDU
The longer we wait, the stronger
Dooku's armies become. We cannot
wait for the Senate to make up its
mind about granting the Chancellor
emergency powers, in order to be
able to use that clone army... We
have the authority to go now. We
must go now.

All of the JEDI COUNCIL nod their approval.

YODA
Agreed, Master Windu. Two hundred
Jedi send. Enough, let's hope
they are.

Meanwhile, the Senate votes--though we do not see the outcome. On Geonosis the Jedi attempt to arrest Count Dooku, but the droid army wipes out most of their forces, but Yoda arrives just in time with the army--the Senate has obviously passed the Emergency Powers to enable them to use the army. The Jedi are rescued and the rest of the army lands outside the arena to stop the Seperatists, beginning the clone war.

In this version of the film the Jedi believe the army is their best hope at pre-empting the Seperatists strike, unlike the film where they show no commitment until Yoda does an offscreen about-face and shows up on Geonosis with the army. The script also features a lengthy interrogation between Padme and Dooku, where it is explained quite clearly that their arrest and impending execution constitues an act of war that the Republic will be forced to take action against. These elements, I feel, shed light on why the final film portrays the Jedi as suddenly forging headlong into warfare. It also explains other curiosities, like why Obi Wan follows Jango's ship so closely that he can be seen, when he was using a tracking device: in the original script, Obi Wan gets knocked off a ledge on Tipoca City, and Jango escapes, without being tracked--Obi Wan catches up to him in his ship at break neck speed to catch him. Other elements are more effectively portrayed, such as the notion that the Republic in its twilight, as the Senate falls apart and citizens begin revolting; the disillusionment in government is much more pronounced in the screenplay.

The original script then does not present so much of a mystery; the Jedi still don't know who exactly the person known as Sido-Dyas was, and they express inclination to ascertain what the Sith's involvement in the matter is, but otherwise the clone army is a desired goal that is achieved by the picture's end, even though it results in the Clone War, to which Yoda expresses regret in his final scene.

The shooting script can be downloaded here. It purports to be the revised third draft (it's date reflects revisions at the time of the first series of pick-ups--whether either of these designations are accurate is unknown to me, but whatever the case it is indeed the script that was used for principle photography as far as I can tell).

03/25/08

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