The Bad Batch: 5 Confirmed Ways It Connects To The Wider Star Wars Universe (& 5 Ways That It Could)
The Star Wars universe is set to expand once more in an animated format, with the upcoming debut of The Bad Batch on Disney+. Based on the team from The Clone Wars, the series looks to fill in some of the gaps after the fall of the Republic and during the rise of the Empire.
Considering its place in the timeline, therefore, as well as some of the links that the trailer has revealed already, it's clear to see that The Bad Batch won't be shy about its connections to the much larger expanded universe. The galaxy far far away is going to feel a little bit bigger therefore when this animated show provides additional details and color to pre-established characters and worlds.
10 Potential Connection: The Criminal Underworld
The criminal underworld has been thoroughly explored throughout all of the brand's expanded universe. Indeed, there have been plenty of comics on the matter, alongside novels and even a canceled video game titled 1313. Solo: A Star Wars story provided perhaps the greatest advancement on this underworld though.
With The Bad Batch operating as hired killers, it's very plausible that they partner with well-known Bounty Hunters and likely work for significant crime lords. From the Hutts to even Solo's Qi'ra and Dryden Vos, there's room for all of these characters and their respective syndicates to become involved in the story.
9 Confirmed Connection: Fennec Shand
Disney+'s The Mandalorian has become a great vehicle for fun cameos from across the Star Wars universe, but it has also introduced audiences to characters who can make their own appearances elsewhere. The sharpshooter Fennec Shand is a great example of this.
The Bounty Hunter and current ally to Boba Fett has been confirmed to appear in The Bad Batch and can even be seen in the trailer. While this version of the character will be early into her career, she looks no less experienced with a blaster and could serve as a valuable ally to these mutated clones.
8 Potential Connection: Darth Maul
Over the years there's been a number of different takes on the famous Sith Lord, Darth Maul. The son of Dathomir was supposedly killed in The Phantom Menace, before making his triumphant return in The Clone Wars, alongside his brother Savage Opress.
Solo revealed Maul to be behind the crime syndicate known as Crimson Dawn. He has been seen with criminal ties in The Clone Wars and is a key part of the Shadow Collective. The narrative threads are there for Maul to be brought back into this animated world, perhaps as an employer for The Bad Batch.
7 Confirmed Connection: The Empire
The trailers have demonstrated that the Empire will have a significant presence in The Bad Batch, as Palpatine himself declares a new era for the galaxy. This early period is a dark time, although one that really hasn't been explored in too much detail yet: especially on screen.
Because of the Emperor's tight grip on the former Republic, Stormtroopers are starting to make their own presence felt across society. They were featured in the trailer and could become (as is often the case) some of the most important antagonists in the show.
6 Potential Connection: Pirates
With a galaxy under so much control, there's also a certain amount of lawlessness as the Empire starts allowing unsavory activities to go unpunished. Piracy is a complicated topic during this era, but the pirate Hondo Ohnaka will be doing his best to survive and even thrive.
The character has appeared in both The Clone Wars and Rebels so it would make a lot of sense for Ohnaka to make an appearance in the middle chapter of this unofficial trilogy. Hondo aside, there's definitely a place for pirates in this narrative as they do become a key threat in deep space.
5 Confirmed Connection: Dark Troopers
The Mandalorian also brought the Dark Troopers into official canon for the first time, after they were left discarded alongside other Legends content from the previous Star Wars expanded universe. These robotic soldiers will be returning for The Bad Batch.
Significantly cheaper to animate than to bring into live-action, it may be possible that a wider range of Dark Troopers will be featured here. After all, Moff Gideon had only just finalized his own design, so the Troopers here will be much earlier attempts to create the perfect killing machine.
4 Potential Connection: Cere Junda
Cere Junda's own timeline is a little foggy; due to the consequences of the fall of the Republic and because of the rise of the Empire, she shuts herself off from the force, after only just surviving the purge of the Jedi. In Jedi: Fallen Order, Junda is a reluctant warrior still healing from the scars of her past.
The Bad Batch could be the perfect time for audiences to see just what happened to Cere Junda during these early days of darkness. The character would certainly serve as an interesting target for The Bad Batch if they are hired to go Jedi hunting. Of course, Cal Kestis is in deep hiding at this stage as well so he may make a small cameo in his own right.
3 Confirmed Connection: Slavers
The Clone Wars created a number of interesting sub-plots regarding the slave trade; something Anakin has an incredibly bad history with. If the Empire was going to be built from the ground up, then slaves were an important part of this process.
The Zygerrians were a race of cat-like people who were some of the largest slavers in the galaxy. They utilized laser whips during combat and in the trailer, there is clearly a Zygerrian slaver fighting off The Bad Batch with their trademark weapon of choice.
2 Potential Connection: Battle Droids
Look closely enough and there appears to perhaps be a few droids lurking in frames of the trailer. While nothing can be confirmed from this officially, there may be a lot of cleaning up to do from the Clone Wars, before the Empire can thrive.
There's likely a number of Battle Droids still in operation across the galaxy and someone will have to shut them down. By the time of the Galactic War in the original Star Wars movies, there are no longer any Battle Droids about: so something must have happened to them. The Bad Batch can demonstrate exactly what wiped them out completely.
1 Confirmed Connection: The Bad Batch
It seems somewhat obvious to say, but there is a direct connection being made between the final season of The Clone Wars and this latest animated show, The Bad Batch. The series is based on the titular Clone squad who were supposedly defects of the cloning process.
This connection is an interesting one as it paints the show to be somewhat of a sequel to the beloved hit series. The trailers have teased that the show will be heading back to their homeworld Kamino, so more may be revealed about what happened to the Clones after the fall of the Republic.