At the recent press junket for “Star Wars The Bad Batch,” I had the chance to chat with Dee Bradley Baker (the voice of the Bad Batch clones), Jennifer Corbett (Producer and Head Writer), and Brad Rau (Producer). In honor of May the 4th and the premiere of “Star Wars The Bad Batch” on Disney Plus tomorrow (aptly on May 4th) we have some fun facts about “Star Wars The Bad Batch” to share with you.
This post may contain spoilers if you have not yet watched Episode 1 of “Star Wars The Bad Batch.”
About “The Bad Batch”
The series follows the elite and experimental clones of the Bad Batch (first introduced in “The Clone Wars”) as they find their way in a rapidly changing galaxy in the immediate aftermath of the Clone War. Members of Bad Batch—a unique squad of clones who vary genetically from their brothers in the Clone Army—each possess a singular exceptional skill that makes them extraordinarily effective soldiers and a formidable crew. In the post-Clone War era, they will take on daring mercenary missions as they struggle to stay afloat and find a new purpose.
We first meet The Bad Batch in the final season of “The Clone Wars.” Episode 1 of “Star Wars The Bad Batch” starts in the days leading up to Order 66.
Admiral Tarkin in a scene from “STAR WARS: THE BAD BATCH”, exclusively on Disney+. © 2021 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.
“Star Wars The Bad Batch” shows another unique viewpoint of what happened during this period in the galaxy—the stark transition from the Republic to the rise of the Empire—and the challenges that the Bad Batch will face, given their typical way of getting things done, which does not include following rules.
The Bad Batch is very much a team, but they're not like the Clones that are following commands from a top-down structure. It's a very interesting story to place them in the middle of this transformational moment and to see how it plays out.
Fun Facts About “Star Wars The Bad Batch” on Disney Plus
Dee Bradley Baker, the voice of The Bad Batch
One person voices all 5 Bad Batch Members
Dee Bradley Baker is the voice behind all 5 members of the Bad Batch
Dee Bradley Baker said it’s actually more challenging to voice the Clones Troopers than it is to voice the Bad Batch because the differentiation is much tighter between characters. It has to be decisive.
“The Bad Batch are actually much further apart from each other, which oddly makes it a little bit easier to jump from character to character to character. For me, it feels like I'm jumping from rock to rock on a stream. I can see the rock. The writing is clear. And that's what I jump to, is that character,” Dee Bradley Baker said during the press junket for Star Wars The Bad Batch. “I can see them. I feel like I know them, and it actually helps that they're further differentiated vocally…It comes off looking more like a magic trick than it does maybe with the Clones, but it's still a really fascinating process as a voice actor to just have these scenes where I'm just talking to myself.”
Wrecker, The Bad Batch
Dee Bradley Baker has a favorite Bad Batch member…kind of.
Dee Bradley Baker (the voice of The Bad Batch) said picking a favorite member of The Bad Batch would be like picking a favorite child. That said, he said it is fun to be Wrecker because he’s “…so honest, so clear and funny, but I have great affection for all of them. They're all very interesting fellows. but Wrecker's probably the furthest away from me from all of them. And, he's great fun.”
Listen to Dee Bradley Baker do a snippet of Wrecker on our podcast!
Jennifer Corbett, Producer and Head Writer “Star Wars The Bad Batch”
Jennifer Corbett and Brad Rau have both worked with Dave Filoni on previous Star Wars projects.
Jennifer Corbett (Producer and Head Writer of “Star Wars The Bad Batch”) worked with Dave Filoni on “Star Wars Resistance,” and she said getting to develop a series with him is “kinda like a master class in writing Star Wars. Every day, every script is a learning experience.”
As “The Bad Batch” is essentially a sequel of sorts to “The Clone Wars,” it was crucial that Filoni be involved in the process since these are characters that he's created and it’s the world that he knows. Corbett said it's been exciting to see the show grow and develop with this team and Filoni has been fantastic to learn from.
Brad Rau, Producer “Star Wars The Bad Batch”
Brad Rau regrets not working with Dave Filoni the first time he had a chance so he rectified that.
Brad Rau (Producer of “Star Wars The Bad Batch”) has also known Filoni a long time and worked with him previously, as well. When Filoni was starting “The Clone Wars,” Rau first met him at Skywalker Ranch (he was just starting his own animation studio at that time and was unable to join the force of “The Clone Wars.”
“It was one of my regrets that I rectified later on in Rebels, to join as an episodic director. And then on Resistance. And he's an awesome guy, a good friend. Really good, you know, I couldn't think of a better mentor. Especially for Star Wars,” Rau said.
Emotionally charged stories give action more texture.
To deal with this family dynamic, to have the stories be emotionally charged, and emotionally based gives the action a lot more texture. As a viewer, I agree. Nothing tugs at the heartstrings more than the emotional connection you've built with a character.
“Let's face it, we're blowing stuff up and we're having fun doing that but, to have the emotional context of that is the challenge, in any of these stories,” Rau said. “And for us, it helps that we are coming into characters that are familiar and yet, we don’t know that much about. And it gives us room to play around with how those characters develop.”
You’re going to love Omega.
Omega has powers and is integral to the story. We just don’t know how yet. Producer Brad Rau confirmed she had powers during our press interview.
Wrecker sleeps with a Tooka-Cat
Its name is Lula. It's adorable. And I need one.
Corbett drew from her experiences in the United States Navy while working on “The Bad Batch.”
“When I first saw the original story arc for ‘The Bad Batch' that was meant for ‘The Clone Wars,' the final season, I immediately responded to it because I got the dynamic between this squad,” Corbett said.
“I understand how people in the military become very close when you're sent on missions together. When you're in close quarters and the camaraderie and also the banter that comes with living with people, so closely, in high-stress situations. So, I think, that's what I try to bring to it, is how this squad, even though they are these elite soldiers, they are this family. But they don't have to agree all the time. And all the different perspectives that each of them brings, because they're all so very different.”
“I think that speaks to the military. No one comes from the same background, everybody has different reasons for doing what they're doing. And it is a family dynamic in real life.”
“Star Wars The Bad Batch” on Disney Plus
“Star Wars: The Bad Batch” makes its debut on Disney + Tuesday, May 4, with a special 70-minute premiere, followed by new episodes every Friday starting on May 7.
Check out all of our Bad Batch coverage here.
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