By George & Josh Bate
Clone Force 99 are back for one final ride in the upcoming season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, premiering February 21 on Disney+. The HoloFiles and other Star Wars outlets recently had the opportunity to speak with head writer and executive producer Jennifer Corbett and supervising director and executive producer Brad Rau about the new season.
Corbett and Rau have been two of the main creative minds behind the animated show, which premiered in 2021 as an immediate follow up to Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and its closely connected series The Clone Wars. The Bad Batch are a Dirty Dozen-esque group of defective clones, originally created by George Lucas and Dave Filoni, who first appeared in Season 7 of The Clone Wars.
Season 2 of The Bad Batch concluded in heartbreaking fashion as one of the team’s core members – Tech – died during a risky mission against the Empire. The duo described the decision to kill of Tech as “really hard, [but] going into Tarkin’s home base…then there’s gonna be a price to pay, or else it’s not realistic.“ They described Tech’s death as “the noble thing as he sacrificed himself for the rest of his family.” Corbett and Rau went on to say that they were touched by the emotional reaction from fans after Tech’s death, and that this loss is “very present in the characters and how they’re dealing with that hole in their lives.”
Corbett and Rau were also asked about finding the balance between concluding these characters journeys in an emotionally satisfying and personal way, while also connecting the story back to the larger events in a galaxy far, far away. “Now that it’s the final season, it is that balancing act,” they said. “It’s how do we make sure that we are focusing mostly on the characters’ journeys, but also give a fulfilling and and worthwhile mission that they can take part in for the end.” The Bad Batch has always had substantial connections to the prequels as well as The Clone Wars, but the final season teases implications to the story of The Mandalorian-era shows as well as the sequel trilogy.
Regarding connections to other Star Wars stories, The HoloFiles inquired how Corbett and Rau work alongside other creators at Lucasfilm to craft an overarching story that works for every show. “We were always talking to Dave Filoni, who has such great insight,” Rau said. “He’s a great leader, friend, and mentor to us.” Rau said that they “also have access to the Lucasfilm Story Group, which will from time to time, give a note about something based on another show, although the timeline of The Bad Batch, there’s not a lot of other shows happening, so it gives us a little bit of freedom.” Despite that, the creative team clarified that it can “get really tricky, so we’re very careful that our personal character story doesn’t step on something or contradict something else that has happened elsewhere.”
The creative duo were then asked about the conception of the series, and if these connections and implications to some of the biggest plot lines in the Star Wars galaxy were pre-planned. They stated that developing these stories started “at the beginning of season one.” Corbett continued, “This is a story about the Bad Batch, but it’s also about the story of the end of the clone trooper program, and what that looks like in Star Wars. Because you don’t see [the clones] in later movies or shows, so we wanted to just focus on that and lead into the veteran aspect…Because even though they’re not with the Empire and they’re not part of it, they are still clones, and those are still their brothers. So, again, making it as personal as possible for the characters and, and for the ones telling the story.”
Corbett and Rau also reflected on their years work on the series, and how they feel as The Bad Batch is heading towards a climatic end. “We’re proud to be able to represent the hundreds of people that have been working on the show at Lucasfilm and Skywalker Sound, and our entire cast and crew is beautiful.” They described concluding the series as “very bitter sweet,” but that they’re “really proud” of being able to give the series a proper, planned ending.
“When we knew this is gonna be our final season, we were able to end it the way we wanted to,” Rau said. “So we hope all the fans like it as much as we do…the show has gone above and beyond [expectations], and that is a testament to the cast and the crew.”
Listen to the full interview with Jennifer Corbett and Brad Rau about The Bad Batch Season 3 below:
Check out The HoloFiles’ initial reaction to the The Bad Batch Season 3:
Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 3 debuts on February 21 on Disney+ with a three episode premiere. Stay tuned to The HoloFiles for continued coverage of the new Star Wars series, including weekly reviews, episode analyses, and more!