Your favorite group of misfit clones are about to return to a streaming service near you.
On Feb. 21, Star Wars: The Bad Batch comes back to Disney+ with its third and final season with a special three-episode premier. Earlier this week, we got a look at the trailer for the latest animated offering from Dave Filoni in a galaxy far, far away.
Hunter, Wrecker, Echo and Omega are back, of course, as are Crosshair, Phee (voiced by the great Wanda Sykes), Captain Rex and Emperor Palpatine.
But in the trailer, we also see some other familiar – and unexpected – characters pop up.
One last fight.
The final season of Star Wars: #TheBadBatch starts streaming February 21, with a three-episode premiere, only on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/9brlLCRNJC
— Star Wars (@starwars) January 22, 2024
Let’s dive in and break it down.
A spoiler warning here for all things Star Wars, in case you’re unfamiliar with the animated shows, the books and extended universe lore.
Asajj Ventress is back?
So, yes, apparently so.
For folks unfamiliar with the animated shows and the books, here’s a bio on Ventress:
The character was originally conceived by George Lucas and the artists working on Attack of the Clones but she did not appear in the film. Ventress instead made her debut in the 2003 animated micro-series Star Wars: Clone Wars by Genndy Tartakovsky. She made her first canonical appearance in the 2008 animated film The Clone Wars and then in the television show created by Filoni that followed, which ran for seven seasons from 2008 through 2020.
Initially, Ventress is introduced as a pure villain. She is a Dathomirian (yes, the same race as Darth Maul and those Nightsisters from Ahsoka) and is the Sith apprentice of Count Dooku during the early days of the Clone Wars, often doing battle with Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka and even Yoda. We later learn that, as a youth, Ventress was trained in the ways of the Force by a Jedi. As The Clone Wars series drags on, Darth Sidious sees Ventress as a liability and demands that Dooku kill her. He fails, and in turn, Ventress teams up with Maul’s brother Savage Opress to kill Dooku – a plot that also fails. From there, Ventress becomes a rogue agent of sorts. We see her briefly team up with Boba Fett, she fights Maul and Opress alongside Obi-Wan, and she helps Ahsoka prove her innocence to the Jedi Council.
Still with me? Alright. So, in 2015, a novel called Dark Disciple is released. It’s based off unfinished episodes from The Clone Wars and – according to what Disney said about Star Wars books at the time – it is canon. In short: Ventress teams up with a Jedi, Quinlan Vos, and they set out on a journey to kill Dooku. In the end, Dooku kills Ventress with lightning and Vos takes Ventress’ body back to Dathomir.
But if we’ve learned anything about Dathomir and the Nightsisters, it’s that they have an ability to defy and reverse death.
When this trailer for the latest season of The Bad Batch was released, fans were worried that Dark Disciple was being retconned. Lucasfilm released a statement from Brad Rau, supervising director and one of the executive producers of the series, that said otherwise:
“We love Asajj Ventress. She’s a character that we’ve been wanting to tell more stories about. We don’t want to spoil anything, but want fans to know that any new storytelling with Ventress will align with the events of Star Wars: Dark Disciple.”
In short, Star Wars fans, do your homework and read Dark Disciple, and get ready for a new adventure with Ventress.
What remains unclear from the trailer is whether or not Ventress is on the side of Clone Force 99 or working against them. But then again, isn’t that on-brand for Ventress?
Hmmmmm, #StarWars Databank on Ventress has already been updated and includes this tidbit. Seems like we can rule out the flashback scenario for her appearance. https://t.co/Yb24lyFpxG pic.twitter.com/xVk4h5Ey5T
— Jordan Maison (@JordanMaison) January 22, 2024
Other iconic characters return
In addition to Ventress, Phee and Rex, the third season of The Bad Batch is going to feature some other fan-favorite characters.
The trailer shows us glimpses of bounty hunter Fennec Shand, voiced by the great Ming-Na Wen, and bounty hunter Cad Bane. Fans of the live action Star Wars shows will remember that he met his demise in The Book of Boba Fett, but this show takes place decades before.
Dr. Royce Hemlock, voiced by Jimmi Simpson, is also back and still obsessed with cloning.
Additionally, it’s worth noting that Ian McDiarmid will reprise his role of voicing Palpatine.
Also appearing in the trailer were those red Imperial Royal Guards that debuted in Return of the Jedi, and clone troopers that look a lot like the Republic Commandos from the 2005 video game.
Is that Tech?
The second season of The Bad Batch ended with one member of Clone Force 99, Tech, seemingly sacrificing himself for the survival of the group. As the season finale ended with Omega being taken into Imperial custody, the audience is led to believe that Tech is dead.
But… I’m just going to leave these tweets here and let some other fans do the speculating.
Y’all I’m convinced this is Tech. Look at the helmet and chest armor. There looks to be a cerebral implant on the side of his head as well. Then, as @itsartcrawl said in his post.. that looks like Pabu’s Archium he’s standing in front of. He’s hunting them! #thebadbatch pic.twitter.com/nMRwdtRyWj
— Norra ✨ (@NExploradora) January 22, 2024
Is this mysterious trooper in The Bad Batch Season 3 actually Tech…? pic.twitter.com/wFJTtwzB7H
— Star Wars Holocron (@sw_holocron) January 23, 2024
What else we know
- In the trailer, Hunter says to Wrecker, “Omega’s been waiting for us for a long time.” It’s unclear what exactly “a long time” means, but fans should be prepared for a time jump. The first season of The Bad Batch begins in 19 BBY (Before The Battle Of Yavin).
- Crosshair also seems to be imprisoned by the Empire, as the trailer shows him being escorted by troopers in a hallway.
- The finale will air on May 1.
Mark your calendars.
The final season of Star Wars: @TheBadBatch is streaming February 21, with a three-episode premiere, only on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/Yo0ecwQhZk
— Star Wars (@starwars) January 22, 2024
