Star Wars 'The Bad Batch': Release Date, Trailer, Cast and Plots
Photo: Murphy's Multiverse

Star Wars: The Bad Batch is a new series coming to Disney Plus. The streaming service ordered Star Wars: The Bad Batch, an animated show that is a spinoff to the recently-concluded The Clone Wars.

The Bad Batch follows the elite and experimental clones of the Bad Batch, who were first introduced in Clone Wars. The unique squad, who vary genetically from their brothers in the Clone Army, are finding their way in a rapidly changing galaxy in the aftermath of the Clone War.

Members of Bad Batch each possess a singular exceptional skill — such as enhanced eyesight or increased strength — which makes them extraordinarily effective soldiers and a formidable crew. In the post-Clone War era, they will take on daring mercenary missions as they struggle to stay afloat and find new purposes. That means Star Wars: The Bad Batch takes place between Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch is executive produced by Dave Filoni (The Mandalorian, Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Athena Portillo (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels), Brad Rau (Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars Resistance) and Jennifer Corbett (Star Wars Resistance, NCIS) with Carrie Beck (The Mandalorian, Star Wars Rebels) as co-executive producer and Josh Rimes as producer (Star Wars Resistance). Rau is also serving as supervising director with Corbett as head writer.

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The Bad Batch is Disney Plus' newest Star Wars television project. The Mandalorian season 2 is due out this fall. Plus, a Cassian Andor spinoff of Rogue One and an Obi-Wan Kenobi show is in the works. There's also a female-centric Star Wars series being developed by Russian Doll co-creator Leslye Headland.

When is The Bad Batch release date?

The Bad Batch will start debut on Disney+ on an exciting day: May 4, 2021, also known as Star Wars Day. The news was confirmed on February 24. May 4, 2021, is a Tuesday. But, according to Star Wars.com, "Subsequent episodes will premiere on Fridays." This means that the first week, there will be two episodes of The Bad Batch: the premiere on Tuesday, May 4, and then the next installment on Friday, May 7.

Who are in The Bad Batch cast?

For the most part, the cast of The Bad Batch will consist of voice actor Dee Bradley Baker playing all the different members of the squad. Since 2008, Baker has voiced the Clone Troopers in the animated versions of The Clone Wars and Rebels. Canonically, Baker represents Temuera Morrison's voice, who played Jango Fett and all the Clones in the prequels, not to mention Boba Fett in The Mandalorian and upcoming spinoff The Book of Boba Fett.

Star Wars 'The Bad Batch': Release Date, Trailer, Cast and Plots
Photo: Epicstream

The only other confirmed member of The Bad Batch cast is Ming-Na Wen as Bounty Hunter Fennec Shand. Wen is playing a younger version of Fennec Shand, who was first introduced in The Mandalorian Season 1, and who made a triumphant comeback in Season 2 alongside the aforementioned Fett. Although many characters from The Clone Wars and Rebels appeared or were referenced in The Mandalorian, this is the first time the reverse has happened — a Mandalorian character appearing in a new Star Wars cartoon.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch timeline

As the trailer indicates, it seems like The Bad Batch takes place right after Order 66 in Revenge of the Sith, perhaps even during the moments that the Emperor "reorganizes" the Republic into the Empire. In Star Wars timeline-speak, that means The Bad Batch will begin in roughly 19 BBY. However, it seems possible that the series could span more time than just this specific year and era, reported Inverse.

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Star Wars: The Bad Batch plot

The Bad Batch focuses on Clone Force 99, who was introduced at the beginning of Clone Wars season 7. Each of the elite clones has been genetically modified with enhanced skills, as cited by Tom's Guide.

"The Bad Batch themselves, that was all right from [George Lucas]," Filoni told Entertainment Weekly. "He wanted to explore this idea that there were clones that were a little bit more unique from one another that were like a special forces unit that had enhanced skills. And so the trick for those characters is really making them feel special in what their abilities could be, but not making them superheroes. Wrecker should not be the Hulk, even though we love the Hulk and those types of stories. That's not what Star Wars is. So we had to keep it all kind of within the reality of Star Wars."

A team of elite fighters with unique and special skills? Sounds like Lucasfilm took a page from corporate sibling Marvel's book.

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