The Clone Wars-era Separatist Droid Army almost looked completely different in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. The Confederacy of Independent Systems, also known as the CIS or Separatists, opposed the Galactic Republic in the Separatist Crisis and the Clone Wars. Though like the Republic, it was under Palpatine’s control all along, with the secret Sith Lord using the CIS to tear the Republic apart and convince its citizenry to accept the Republic’s transition into the totalitarian Galactic Empire.

Although the Separatists managed to convince a mᴀssive portion of the Star Wars galaxy to break away from the Republic, it was a far more corrupt government. Below Palpatine and Count Dooku, the real power within the CIS were the members of the Separatist Council, comprised of some of the galaxy’s greediest and most unethical corporate enтιтies. These companies each contributed to the Separatist war machine – a mᴀssive force largely comprised of various types of battle droids, though the CIS military almost ended up looking quite different in its Attack of the Clones debut.

The Droid Army’s Unique Droids Almost Didn’t Exist

In Attack of the Clones, the Separatist Droid Army includes the familiar B1 battle droids and droidekas used by the Trade Federation in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, but it also introduced a slew of new droids. These included (but were not limited to) the Commerce Guild’s spider droids and the InterGalactic Banking Clan’s hailfire droids. Later Clone Wars-era materials and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith would introduce even more Separatist droids from its various sub-factions. ​​​​​​​

Still, the Droid Army almost looked perhaps too familiar to the Trade Federation’s military in The Phantom Menace. According to the official Star Wars website’s bygone databank entry for dwarf spider droids, the Droid Army in Attack of the Clones was almost identical to what was seen in The Phantom Menace, only the droids would have different paint markings to represent their respective affiliation with Separatist sub-factions.

The decision was made early on, however, to give each Separatist sub-faction different droids. This was, ultimately, the right choice. It made the villainous Separatist Droid Army far more visually diverse and allowed for fascinating lore to be created for the new droids.

Grievous Was Responsible For This Change In Legends

In the Star Wars Legends continuity, the CIS military was relatively decentralized at the start of the war, typically appearing as a hodgepodge of various droid armies and naval forces as it did in Attack of the Clones. By the end of the war’s first year, however, warships and ground forces began identifying more with the CIS writ large than the various Separatist sub-factions, with warships almost universally adopting the signature Separatist emblem and blue paint scheme. This change may have been accelerated by General Grievous replacing the late Sev’rance Tann as the Separatist Supreme Commander.