The rebellious gang of mercenaries is returning to Disney+ for a second season. Here is everything we know about the Bad Batch season 2.
In all its depictions, the Star Wars Galactic Empire always maintains an iron fist grip on the galaxy. The Empire is brutal and merciless and, from what we learned in Andor, has eyes everywhere. In this galaxy, you fall in line or get a boot on your neck, literally and figuratively. But they can’t control everything or everyone, as evidenced by the Rebels, and can’t even keep all of their own in line. That’s where Star Wars: The Bad Batch comes in.
First introduced in the hit Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the genetically enhanced squad of clone troopers get the job done but do it their own way, no matter who’s giving the orders. This obviously doesn’t go over well with the Imperial brass, making Clone Force 99 a ripe target. They’re like a mini-Rebellion right in the ranks of the Empire. The first season of the acclaimed animated series The Bad Batch is somewhat overshadowed by its live-action Star Wars counterparts like The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Still, despite its relative afterthought status, a second season is coming to Disney+ soon.
Here's everything we know about The Bad Batch season 2.
Like all Star Wars projects pre-release, details are scant for season 2 of The Bad Batch. The season will begin under the looming shadow of an expanding and more aggressive Empire. The concept of Clones is wearing on the Imperials, and they are looking to do away with this practice as of the end of season 1 of the series. Tipoca City is razed to cap off the first campaign, leaving the Empire’s capital of cloning in ruins. With this, Clones could start to wonder what their place is in the structure of the Empire, leading to a potential revolution among their ranks.
The now-defected Clone Force 99 is officially free from its Imperial obligations, fully rogue and looking for allies and mercenary work. The Empire will be hunting them down for their disloyalty, so friends and cash will be needed. The members of Clone Force 99, Hunter, Tech, Echo, and Wrecker, find their squad one person short as Crosshair opts to stick with the Empire at the end of season 1. This bit of character drama will likely play a large part in the narrative of season 2, as the Empire clearly has no use for clones going forward. Will this one-way loyalty bring Crosshair back to the team?
There will also be a political angle to the season, according to series composer Kevin Kiner, who stated:
"There's some really neat political storylines that I'm very excited for people to see…our direction is always genre."
Playing politics will be a good fit for the series going forward. The Empire is still relatively new in The Bad Batch timeline, so outside of just hoarding and consolidating power, Emperor Palpatine and his subordinates will need to navigate some finer points of the process to his complete rule, as there is still a façade of the Senate and its believers to contend with.
While mostly speculation, all of these factors converge to give us a general idea of where season 2 of The Bad Batch will go. Mercenaries on the run from one of the biggest big bads ever sounds like a fun season of television.
Since most of the main characters are voiced by one man, the cast of The Bad Batch will be on the thinner side than most series. Dee Bradley Baker will be back voicing the team of Clone Force 99, including Hunter, Tech, Echo, Wrecker, and the erstwhile Crosshair. Michelle Ang will reprise her role as the squad’s newest member, Omega.
In a role secured for life, Ian McDiarmid will likely lend his menacing monotone to the character of Emperor Palpatine once again. McDiarmid only appeared briefly in season 1, but with the appearance of Palpatine in the season 2 trailer, the Sith lord is likely to expound upon his role and rule over the galaxy.
Likely returning to fill out the cast will be Rhea Perlman as Cid, Noshir Dalal as Vice Admiral Rampart, Stephen Stanton as Admiral Tarkin, and Gwendoline Yeo as Nala Se. We’re also expecting The Bad Batch creator David Filoni and head writer Jennifer Corbett to return for the new round of episodes.
The Bad Batch season 2 has been the subject of some release delays, with the new slate of episodes initially earmarked for a September 2022 drop. Season 2 will now premiere on January 4, 2023, on Disney+. Season 2 will kick off with a two-episode premiere, a tactic used widely in the streaming Star Wars universe.
As mentioned, Star Wars is always a big secret, so we don’t know much about the second season of The Bad Batch beyond these basics. But with the spectacular climactic events of season 1 and what we’ve seen from the trailers, these mercenaries will be a thrill to watch in their second jaunt across the galaxy.
