The Bad Batch is set for their final ride.
Disney has just released the trailer for the third and final season of the animated Clone Wars spin-off, as our renegade clones have to race to rescue one of their own against the Empire. And to top it off, it shows the shocking return of a classic Clone Wars villain!
Introduced in The Clone Wars animated series, the Bad Batch is a pack of clone soldiers who are somehow defective and unique among the clones. They include leader Hunter, burly Wrecker, genius Tech, cold sniper Crosshair, and Echo (all voiced by Dee Bradley Baker). This special squad handled dirty jobs during the Clone Wars.
The show kicked off with Order 66, as the Batch wasn’t affected to follow the orders to wipe out the Jedi. They met Omega (Michelle Ang), a young female clone, and broke away to fight on their own against the growing Empire.
The show has been top-notch with the action and adventure and some stunning twists, such as Crosshair defecting to the Empire and hunting his comrades. The Season 2 finale had Tech sacrificing himself to help the others escape. But after being betrayed, Omega was taken to a facility to meet her genetic “sister,” Emerie Karr.
That was a huge cliffhanger to set up the new season.
Who’s coming back for The Bad Batch Season 3?
The trailer shows the team under fire when they’re rescued by pirate Phee (Wanda Sykes). That has the team going to rescue Omega, even if it means fighting the entire Empire.
The trailer showcases some amazing action and some familiar faces, from Emperor Palpatine to Cad Bane and Fennec Shand. But more stunning is the final moments as the Batch faces someone Star Wars fans never thought they’d see again: Asajj Ventress.
Introduced in the original 2003 The Clone Wars cartoon, Ventress was the apprentice of Count Dooku, a twisted dark Jedi who fought the heroes a lot. A planned Clone Wars storyline would have had Ventress trying to redeem herself, but the show was canceled first. The novel Dark Disciple told that tale and seemed to end with Ventress’ death.
Speaking to StarWars.com, supervising director Brad Rau said this looks to be a way to bring Ventress back but is tight-lipped on whether this means she survived the rise of the Empire.
"“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.”"
With Ventress in the mix, it looks like The Bad Batch is ready to go out in a wild way to close out an era of Star Wars animation.
The Bad Batch Season 3 premieres Wednesday February 21 on Disney+.