The Batch is ready to break Bad.
The first trailer for The Bad Batch, the spin-off of Star Wars The Clone Wars, shows the misfit clones on the run from the Empire and picking up a new member.
Who are The Bad Batch?
In the Clone Wars, most clone troopers are genetically identical, even with differing personalities. However, Clone Force 99 is made up of clones who are genetically “defective,” creating some mutations. This makes them perfect for a special black ops squadron.
While mentioned throughout the Clone Wars series, the Batch finally made an on-screen appearance in a four-episode arc in season seven.
They comprise of team leader Hunter who has enhanced senses; Crosshair, whose enhanced eyesight makes him an expert marksman; Tech, the quirky technical genius; Wrecker, the hot-tempered bruiser who prefers hand-to-hand combat over weapons; and Echo, who had been experimented on by Separatists and gained the ability to access any computer system with ease.
Dee Bradley Baker voices all the clones. There had been plans for another storyline of the Batch, but it couldn’t be fit in before Clone Wars was canceled.
The Batch on the run
The new series begins immediately following the events of Revenge of the Sith, where Order 66 forced the clones to wipe out the Jedi as the Republic transforms into the Empire.
Given they were never “normal” clones, the Bad Batch is seen as too independent. The trailer shows the newly installed Grand Moff Tarkin (Stephen Stanton) feeling the Batch doesn’t fit into the “order” of the Empire and should be disbanded…with extreme prejudice.
The Batch meets with Omega, one of the last of the group of young clones who idolizes them. When the Empire targets them, Omega joins the Batch as they try to survive this new galaxy.
There are some familiar faces as the Batch meets Saw Gerrera, the resistance fighter played in Rogue One by Forest Whitaker. They also run into Fennec Shand, the bounty hunter from The Mandalorian, voiced by her on-screen actress, Ming-Na Wen.
The trailer emphasizes plenty of action, with Omega shown using some sort of energy bow. The series itself will showcase the immediate post-Republic galaxy and show how the Empire moved from the Clone troopers to Stormtroopers.
The series is executive produced by Clone Wars creator Dave Filoni. It will have a special 70-minute premiere on May 4th (the classic “May the 4th be with you” Star Wars fan date) and then new episodes every Friday.
As the trailer shows, the Batch is ready to face the newly created Empire with the odds majorly against them….which is just how they like it.
Star Wars The Bad Batch premieres on Disney+ May 4 with new episodes every Friday starting May 7.