Kicking off with a 70-minute premiere, STAR WARS: THE BAD BATCH is an explosive start to a brand new animated series coming exclusively to Disney+ today. May the Fourth be with us all!

We had the chance recently to check out the first two episodes of the series and also sit down to hear from some of the cast and crew about the epic return to this part of the Star Wars storyline.

THE BAD BATCH revisits the world of Hunter, Echo, Tech, Wrecker, and Crosshair (all voiced by the immeasurably talented Dee Bradley Baker) who are an elite (or “reject” depending on who you ask) band of experimental clones collectively known as Clone Force 99. Jennifer Corbet (Head Writer) and Brad Rau (Supervising Director) both serve as Executive Producers and were part of the crew we got to hear from about the making of the series.

We first met the titular rag-tag group of badasses in last year’s final season of THE CLONE WARS and in the STAR WARS universe, it’s all connected. The opening moments of THE BAD BATCH hit the ground running — literally — with a precarious mission that (re)introduces a character whose voice should be instantly recognizable. It’s a scene fans should be excited to see and it’s literally right at the start! What’s more, fans can expect the return of other favorites throughout the course of the show including already-announced Fennec Shand and Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin.

The Dave Filoni fingerprints are evident here and the show is surely better off because of it. For those uninitiated with any of the other animated series, you won’t be left in the dark not having watched any of the other STAR WARS animated series but it definitely builds layers of appreciation for those who have. Nerd alert!!

The members of the “Bad Batch” don’t exactly conform to the same conventions as their near-carbon-copy brethren and are thus both revered and reviled for their unique traits. Cohesion within the group is strong but the turmoil bubbling over in the galaxy puts the strength of those bonds to the test. The narrative slowly peels away onion layers of the diverse crew as they begin to question… well, everything. And really, who can’t relate to that?

Stylistically, the show has a visual DNA very similar to THE CLONE WARS and that was completely by design. Rau shared that the new series is a spiritual successor and so the similarities are completely intentional. We can also assume that we’ll also find ourselves on a planet hopping journey to planets both new and familiar. What we couldn’t get an answer from the creators on was whether or not the planet of Batuu might be on the itinerary!

Still, what’s perhaps most interesting about these new adventures was framed by Corbet with seeing a very pivotal time in the galaxy from a completely different part of the universe which, for her as a writer, was a thrilling new angle to pursue. Rau, agreed saying “We haven’t really seen that much about the rise of the Empire,” so we can definitely expect some super fun deep dives into this well-known but under-explored part of the mythology.

And, so, it begins…

See it for Yourself

 STAR WARS: THE BAD BATCH debuts on Disney+ May 4, 2021.