By George Bate & Josh Bate
Clone Force 99 return to action for one final ride on February 21. The highly anticipated trailer for Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 3 has finally arrived, and we’re here to break it all down.
Check out the trailer below:
Check out our breakdown of all the trailer’s hidden details, easter eggs, and more!
The Bad Batch are being hunted by enemies in LAATs (Low Altitude Assault Transports). These were used to transport Clone troopers during the Clone Wars, but look to be used by the Empire now. These first appeared in Attack of the Clones.
Confirmed to be returning for Season 3 is Phee Genoa. Phee was an ally of Clone Force 99 in Season 2 and is voiced by Wanda Sykes.
Also returning is Captain Rex, who recently made his live-action debut in Ahsoka.
It appears as if The Bad Batch Season 3 will be revisiting the planet Teth, which first appeared in the 2008 film Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Tech’s heartbreaking death is referenced in Season 3. Although it’s been nearly a year now, this loss still hurts…
Omega is shown as an Imperial prisoner in the trailer, which is where audiences last saw her in Season 2. In the image below, she can be seen wearing clothing with Kaminoan cloning insignia on it.
Also imprisoned is Crosshair, who crosses paths with Omega in the trailer. After aligning himself with the new Empire in Season 1, Crosshair had a change of heart in Season 2 as depicted in the brilliant episode “The Outpost.”
Doctor Royce Hemlock, the primary antagonist of Season 2, returns in Season 3. He is once again voiced by Jimmi Simpson, known for his roles in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Westworld. As always, Hemlock is up to no good. If you’ve been following our coverage of The Bad Batch, you’ll know that we think what Hemlock is planning involves cloning technology that will somehow tie into Grand Admiral Thrawn’s plans and the upcoming Star Wars film directed by Dave Filoni.
Hunter remarks that Omega has been waiting for them “for a long time.” This suggests that Season 3 will have quite a sizable time jump from Season 2.
Ian McDiarmid returns to voice Emperor Palpatine in Season 3. In the trailer, Palpatine ominously says that “there is nothing of greater importance to securing the future of this Empire” when referencing the Empire’s current mission. This quote suggests that the Empire’s plans here are far-reaching and high-stakes.
Emperor Palpatine is accompanied by Imperial Royal Guards, who first appeared in Return of the Jedi. He is also accompanied by former Republic Commandos, who first appeared in the video game Republic Commandos.
The bounty hunter Fennec Shand is back for Season 3! Ming-Na Wen first played the character in The Mandalorian, before playing roles in The Bad Batch Season 1 and The Book of Boba Fett.
Speaking of bounty hunters, Cad Bane will also return in Season 3. He most recently appeared in The Book of Boba Fett, which depicted his death later in the timeline.
A mysterious masked soldier appears in the trailer. The character has a suspiciously similar build to Tech…
The big jaw-dropper of the trailer is the reveal of Asajj Ventress! Supervising director and executive producer Brad Rau had this to say about how The Bad Batch will not retcon anything from Star Wars: Dark Disciple, “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.”
Asajj Ventress’ inclusion and the easter egg referencing Quinlan Vos in Obi-Wan Kenobi also suggest we may be getting the return of Vos in The Bad Batch Season 3. Will we see the origins of the Path in Season 3?
Also revealed was the entire release schedule for the third season.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 3 Release Schedule
February 21: Episode 1 (“Confined”), 2 (“Paths Unknown”), 3 (“Shadows of Tantiss”)
February 28: Episode 4 (“A Different Approach”)
March 6: Episode 5 (“The Return”)
March 13: Episode 6 (“Infiltration”), 7 (“Extraction”)
March 20: Episode 8 (“Bad Territory”)
March 27: Episode 9 (“The Harbinger”)
April 3: Episode 10 (“Identity Crisis”), 11 (“Point of No Return”)
April 10: Episode 12 (“Juggernaut”)
April 17: Episode 13 (“Into the Breach”)
April 24: Episode 14 (“Flash Strike”)
May 1: Episode 15 (“The Cavalry Has Arrived”)
The poster for The Bad Batch Season 3 can be seen below.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 3 kicks off with a three-episode premiere on February 21 on Disney+.