WARNING: The following contains constantly updated spoilers for Star Wars: The Bad Batch, now streaming on Disney+.
After the success of Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7, Lucasfilm brings another animated project to Disney+ in the form of The Bad Batch. Following the adventures of Clone Force 99 — who was introduced in The Clone Wars’ final outing — post-Revenge of the Sith, the series aims to fill in the gap between the last prequel film and A New Hope. That, of course, means the titular Clones have to learn to operate in a galaxy that’s transitioning from democracy to a fully-fledged under the Empire.
The first episode of The Bad Batch hit Disney+ May 4, 2021, aka Star Wars Day, and was met with a favorable response. The streaming service had been without original Star Wars content since The Mandalorian Season 2 conclude late last year, and without any movies to fill the void, fans had been starved for content. Fortunately, the debut season of The Bad Batch consists of 16 episodes, meaning there’s still plenty of story left to tell before The Book of Boba Fett releases in December.
So, to keep up to date with the latest news, reviews, recaps, Easter eggs, theories and rumors involving The Bad Batch, here’s a guide to the Star Wars series.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch Cast and Crew
Created by Star Wars animation guru Dave Filoni, The Bad Batch acts as a direct sequel to The Clone Wars, picking up during Order 66, when the original series came to an end. Also returning is composer Kevin Kiner, who scored both The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. Voicing the titular Bad Batch is, of course, Dee Bradley Baker, the man that voiced every clone in The Clone Wars. He’s working alongside Michelle Ang, who voices Omega, another mutated Clone the Bad Batch meets on Kamino.
Some of the other actors who lend their voice talents to the series include Archie Panjabi as Depa Billaba, Freddie Prinze Jr. as Caleb Dume, Andrew Kishino as Saw Gerrera, Stephen Stanton as Admiral Tarkin, Noshir Dalal as Vice Admiral Rampart, Ming-Na Wen as Fennec Shand and Rhea Pearlman as Cid and Corey Burton as Cad Bane. To learn more information about how these actors and their characters play into The Bad Batch’s story, consider viewing the articles below.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch’s Story
The first episode of The Bad Batch, “Aftermath,” opens on the planet Kaller, where Jedi Master Depa Billaba and Caleb Dume are fending off Separatist forces. Sadly, this moment coincides with the execution of Order 66, which leads to the death of Master Billaba. However, the members of Clone Force 99 — with the exception of Crosshair — are unaffected by the Order and they head back to Kamino. Not wanting to take part in the Empire’s madness, the group leaves their homeworld but loses Crosshair in the process when Tarkin augments his inhibitor chip.
After leaving Kamino, Clone Force 99 ends up working as mercenaries for an informant named Cid. After the group does some work for Cid, gets their inhibitor chips removed with Captain Rex and escapes an attack by Crosshair, Omega is kidnapped by Cad Bane, who plans to trade her to the Kaminnoans. Things go sideways, however, when Fennec Shand arrives at the rendevous point, and, after learning that Lamu Su wants her dead, Omega escapes and returns to her friends. With several parties after Omega, Hunter has her stay behind for their next mission, which sees them reluctantly rescue Separatist senator Avi Singh from the Empire. The show then shifts gears to the planet Ryloth, where Crosshair and the Empire are causing problems for the Syndulla family. For more detailed breakdowns of each episode of The Bad Batch, take a look at the articles below.
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch: Season 1, Episode 1, ‘Aftermath’ Recap & Spoilers
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch: Season 1, Episode 2, ‘Cut and Run’ Recap & Spoilers
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch: Season 1, Episode 3, ‘Replacements’ Recap & Spoilers
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch: Season 1, Episode 4, ‘Cornered’ Recap & Spoilers
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch: Season 1, Episode 5, ‘Rampage’ Recap & Spoilers
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch: Season 1, Episode 6, ‘Decommissioned’ Recap & Spoilers
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch: Season 1, Episode 7, ‘Battle Scars’ Recap & Spoilers
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch: Season 1, Episode 8, ‘Reunion’ Recap & Spoilers
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch: Season 1, Episode 9, ‘Bounty Lost’ Recap & Spoilers
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch: Season 1, Episode 10, ‘Common Ground’ Recap & Spoilers
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch: Season 1, Episode 11, ‘Devil’s Deal’ Recap & Spoilers
Star Wars: The Bad Batch Easter Eggs and References
As is par the course with any Star Wars project, The Bad Batch is full of Easter eggs and references to the larger Star Wars universe. In the first episode, Caleb Dume, who later becomes Star Wars Rebels’ Kanun Jarrus, gets plenty of screentime alongside his master Depa Billaba, who first appeared in Attack of the Clones. Other notable Star Wars characters who’ve appeared thus far include Saw Gerrera, Nala Se, Cut, Fennec Shand, the Martez sisters, Captain Rex, Cad Bane and Hera Syndulla.
Outside of just characters, The Bad Batch also houses its fair share of callbacks to events in Star Wars history, such as an unfinished Clone Wars moment and a beloved Star Wars Rebels droid. Anyone wanting to dive deeper into the Easter eggs and references in The Bad Batch can view the articles below.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch Theories and Rumors
When dealing with a property as storied and popular as Star Wars, rampant speculation is part of the fun. In its first few episodes, The Bad Batch has had its fair share of mysteries, mostly concerning Omega, who Tech realizes is altered in a similar way to the rest of the team. Another fascinating plot point the show has presented is the Empire’s dismissal of the Clones. After arriving on Kamino, Tarkin believes the former Republic doesn’t need a genetically engineered army, so much so, he almost kills the Bad Batch to prove his point, However, with their future in doubt, Nala Se devises a plan to create more mutated Clones, which leads him to hire Cad Bane to kidnap Omega. Not wanting Omega to fall into her boss’ hands, Lamu Su recruits Fennect Shand to thwart any attempt to bring the child back to Kamino.
The most recent mystery the show introduced, though, was unknown contact the Martez sisters were speaking to. That turns out to be Rex, but the Clone Captain brings along a puzzle of his own. Before speaking to Hunter about his crew joining up with his forces to fight the Empire, Rex contacts someone he plans to rendevous with. While their identity is kept a secret, there are more than a few possible allies left in the galaxy. To read more about the theories and rumors coming out of The Bad Batch, view the articles below.
Created by Dave Filoni, Star Wars: The Bad Batch stars Dee Bradley Baker, Michelle Ang, Andrew Kishino and Ming-Na Wen. A new episode debuts each Friday on Disney+.
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