Star Wars: The Bad Batch launched this week from Lucasfilms on Disney+. As always the beginning of May continues to be a wonderful time for Star Wars fans! This series follows the group of elite and experimental soldiers that were introduced in the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. With the success of that series, fans were salivating at the opportunity to dig their teeth into this next chapter.

But it was a chapter that kicks off on a sour note. In the oversized first episode Star Wars: The Bad Batch kicks off with the ominous Order 66. As a Star Wars fan, we all know this as a turning point in the Galaxy that is far far away. This top-secret order identified all Jedi as traitors to the Galactic Republic and thus were to be executed. Not a great place to start a series right?

Actually, it might just be the perfect place to start. While we have seen the effects of that order from the eyes of the Jedi. As well as see how it shifted the balance of power. We really haven’t seen how it affected clone troopers. Also, the early reaction from the surrounding systems was probably just happy to see the war ended.

During a recent press event for Star Wars: The Bad Batch, head writer, and producer Jennifer Corbett talk about why she was excited to see the starting point to this series. “This time period is one of the reasons I got so excited about this show. I just found it intriguing and engaging to watch a series where we’ve seen the Clone Wars where it’s the height of-of the Clone Troopers doing what they’re meant to do, and what they were created for.  The question became, What happens after the war is over?  What happens to clones who all they know is being soldiers?” Said Corbett.

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“Especially for the Bad Batch who do things differently as it is with the Republic and how they fit in once it becomes the Empire.” Continued Corbett “Because obviously, two very different regimes, and how they react to this new environment and the new way of doing things and new way of following rules.  Which again, isn’t their favorite thing to do.” 

“But it was interesting to just sort of talk about the transition from the Republic to the Empire and what that looks like because it’s not what we saw in the original trilogy, where it’s the dominance of the Empire. It’s kind of like the early stages, and I found it kind of interesting to show planets and places that were happy that the war is over, and they don’t really understand the implications of what an Empire actually means.  It’s kind of just laying the groundwork for what everyone knows the Empire to be later on.”

Dee Bradley Baker, the voice of The Bad Batch in the series also chimed in on the subject. “In the transition-the sudden, shocking transition from Republic to Empire, that it becomes a suddenly much more rule-based power structure of the galaxy of the universe.  The Bad Batch are not so much a rule-based unit. They’re very much a team, but they are not like the Clones are. Where it’s more of a top-down command structure.  And it’s, It’s very interesting to place them in the middle of this transformational moment and to see how that plays out.”

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Brad Rau, producer of Star Wars: The Bad Batch then goes on to make some good points. Going forward, things would not be so easy for these troopers. “This time period, as a fan, I’m just so excited to see. We haven’t seen that much about the rise of the Empire.  So, to have these clinical, best of the best soldiers as suddenly fish out of water in this changing galaxy. (…) None of them are really equipped to go out into the world.  How do they eat?  They don’t have a mess hall to go to.  How do they get their gear fixed?  How do they get fuel for their ship? These are things that are, “Wait a minute, oh yeah, we didn’t-we didn’t have to deal with that la-last week, now we gotta deal with it.”  Are all things we get into.  It’s really interesting.” Said Rau.

Especially after the first episode, I can say I am all in on this different perspective to the events of the order that changed everything in Star Wars lore. It’s interesting to see how many amazing stories that they have been able to pull from the films that have already been in place for years. What fun facts and encounters will we be able to enjoy in this series? Tune in and find out!

New episodes of Disney+’s Star Wars: The Bad Batch can be enjoyed on Fridays exclusively on their streaming platform!