When Clone Force 99 is around, explosive, action-packed shenanigans are guaranteed and The Bad Batch’s latest trailer delivers in spades, though offers some intriguing hints of what else this show will be about with returning, familiar faces and a mystery-filled new one; all I really needed to know is if Wrecker would rein destructive mayhem on his enemies. Head below the poster and for more thoughts on the trailer, including who this “Omega” is! UPDATE 5/4/21: The series premiere and our review of it are in! And now so is our review of it’s second episode!
Not only does The Bad Batch premiere on Star Wars Day this year, but it’ll have a 70-min premiere episode! Star Wars animation shows do tend to start off with a mini-movie like episode and I’m glad to see the tradition continues; the show will be the typical 22-mins or so starting with its second episode on May 7, releasing every Friday after.
The original trailer revealed a younger Fennec Shand from The Mandalorian, played again by Ming-Na Wen, would be a part of the show, and this latest trailer gives us even more goodness with her. The Bad Batch dives into her past and this fall/winter’s The Book of Boba Fett will revel in her future and we are truly blessed, especially considering her lingering fate after the first season of The Mandalorian. While more Grand Moff Tarkin isn’t a surprise, and I’m curious to learn why he brands Clone Force 99 enemies of the Empire, the welcomed surprise is the return of Saw Gerrera! As Saw isn’t too much older than his appearances in The Clone Wars, Andrew Kishino returns to voice him, which is a nice touch and makes a lot of sense, as it’s always awesome to have such continuity, like how Forest Whitaker took on the role in both Rogue One and Star Wars Rebels; regardless who plays him, he’s already got some questionable hair choices and the signature scar. Saw’s extremism should yield some intriguing questions for what Clone Force 99 wants to do once they are targets of the Empire, as he’s always pushing people to the edge and the newly free, though on the run clones might not realize how far he’s willing to go until it’s too late.
There’s one more familiar face sneaking into the series, hidden in a brief but memorable shot in the trailer: Rex! We saw the end of his The Clone Wars story last year in the epic, theater-screen worthy climax The Siege of Mandalore, and while it looks like he could possibly be at the site of his crash landing with Ahsoka Tano when the Bad Batch, plus Omega (more on them in a second!), catch up to him, the more I’ve seen the trailer the less I believe it’s the same planet (maybe Bracca, from Jedi: Fallen Order?). TCW certainly made me enjoy Rex, but there was something in his Rebels return that really made me appreciate the character more, so I’m excited to have him around for a bit with the Bad Batch too!
But the most intriguing part of the trailer is Omega, the young character who tags along with the Bad Batch as they flee the Empire. Omega doesn’t quite seem like a clone of Jango Fett, especially since they seem to lean female (though non-binary isn’t out of the question!) so if they are a clone, who is it of? While a certain line of speculation partly feels like a joke, it could make some potential sense: a Palpatine clone. We know his ultimate plan relies on having a body into which he can project his consciousness if Vader or anyone else happens to betray him, as we learned in The Rise of Skywalker, so it wouldn’t be too surprising he’s working on the project already; the timeline would even roughly match up to the age of Rey’s father, if you want to go that far. However, I don’t quite believe this idea for Omega though, especially not as the clone that ends up as Rey’s father, but them being part of Palpatine’s plans offers intriguing potential, and they will likely be very important to the show’s story regardless. I don’t have much better speculation beyond that idea, besides maybe an attempt to see what else they can do with the Jango Fett line or even something that lines up with Moff Gideon’s project in The Mandalorian, so maybe a clone of someone/anyone as they work on giving the Force to clones. I also have a completely bonkers theory that is 100% incorrect, but I’ll leave it on Twitter. Also, at one point Omega wields a Nightsister’s bow and now I have tons of questions on the how and why of it! Like I said, the chances Omega is extremely important are extremely high and it’s a great mystery to mull over as we get closer to the series’ premiere!
The Bad Batch premieres May 4 so check back at the Manor for our reviews!
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.