“We are in dark times in the Star Wars era,” Star Wars: The Bad Batch head writer and executive producer Jennifer Corbett said during a TCA press conference last week. The seris is now three episodes into its second season on Disney+, following a group of undercooked clones who become father figures to a child following the events of Order 66. “While that is going on, we have to be aware that we need to tell other stories, because it's a wide galaxy. So, there are many adventures that our team can go on. And throughout Season 2 there are some that are a bit grittier, but we do want to still have fun, because that's where the team, I think, also shines. And the next episode from that bleak 203 to episode 204 is very fun. So, hopefully, fans will enjoy that change of pace.”
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“The first two episodes focused on the majority of the Batch and where they are, and we obviously wanted to show where Crosshair is now following Season 1,” Jennifer said of the most recent episode, titled “The Solitary Clone,” centered around the group’s defector. “The original concept of that episode was we wanted a day in the life of Crosshair now and we wanted to pair him with a clone that he respects and just have fun showing him doing what he's good at. Dave Filoni brought up the idea of Commander Cody, because of all the clones, Crosshair respects him the most. So, it was this really great opportunity to show this dynamic between Crosshair and him, because Crosshair doesn't really get along with anybody. And his brothers left him, and now he's finally paired with somebody that he respects. We got to do this fantastic episode where it felt like vintage Clone Wars, except it's a bit of a mind bender because you're rooting for the bad guy. And I think fans were reacting to that. ‘This feels great, I'm having so much fun. But, oh, wait. Am I supposed to be rooting for them?’ Which is really what we wanted to explore.”
“It is so fun to watch that play out, the dynamic of Crosshair and Cody, of how well they work together, how beautifully they mesh in accomplishing a mission together,” shared voice actor extraordinaire Dee Bradley Baker, who voices all of Clone Force 99 and has the challenge of having to make them all sound distinct. “Cody hasn't been around for a while. I usually associate the clones, who are closer in the character to each other than the Bad Batch, with maybe an adjective or two. And, for instance, Cody, the word that comes to my mind, there's a regalness to him. There's an authority and a regalness that I try to feather into his performance to make him distinct from other clone brothers such as Rex or Echo. So that helps. And if that's not enough, then they've probably got some reference that they can play back for me so I can say, okay, this is the tone of that guy right there that I'll try to keep specific to keep him delineated from the other characters.”
“If you like this episode, there are a couple more that I think you're going to like as well,” supervising director and executive producer Brad Rau said. Paying homage to other genres or even specific films is a tradition that goes back to Dave Filoni’s time on The Clone Wars, a legacy that continues on The Bad Batch in Season 2. Upcoming highlights include a two-part Hitchcock thriller and an episode inspired by The Goonies. Dave Filoni remains an executive producer on The Bad Batch, but is spread pretty thin at Lucasfilm with responsibilities on other shows including The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and Skeleton Crew. “He's the busiest guy. He's definitely involved giving us feedback all along the way, at our script phase and designs, and as we go forward, he always gives us wisdom and notes.”
The Bad Batch serve as “Space Dads” to Omega, a girl they took into their care in the first season. The character helps make the series accessible to viewers who may be new to Star Wars, which was fitting for actress Michelle Ang, who wasn’t steeped in the lore when she got the role. “In Season 1, Omega was a little younger,” Michelle said of where we find the character this season and some of the challenges of speaking for Omega. “Brad gave me good direction if I started to slide towards sounding too old or too mature. But for me, really, it's about placing myself in the world. And because the scripts are so full, it's easy for me to imagine the scene playing out, and the childlike wonder of experiencing something for the first time comes naturally when I bring my whole body and imagination to it. And then my voice really just follows. And having a co-star like Mr. Dee Bradley Baker is wonderful because we ping-pong. It's not like I have a clear intent on delivery in terms of a line, ‘I want it to sound like this.’ It's more like an emotional reaction to he's giving me before, how the whole scene shape is playing out. It's very much a lived moment-to-moment experience.”
“They're not just this crack military team, but they're a family,” Brad Rau concluded about the Batch and Omega. “That's a really big key. That's very intentional for the narrative flow. Our amazing cast, it brings them all to life. And we're just so lucky.” The family unit that consists of Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, Echo, and Omega appear in new episodes of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Wednesdays on Disney+.