Disney+ Officially Announces STAR WARS: THE BAD BATCH Animated Series!

A few weeks ago it was reported that Lucasfilm was developing a new Star Wars animated series, a spinoff of The Clone Wars, which would focus on a group of characters known as The Bad Batch, who were introduced in the series finale of the series.

Well, Disney+ has announced that they have officially ordered the series, which is titled Star Wars: The Bad Batch and it will premiere on the streaming service in 2021.  

The series follows the “elite and experimental clones of the Bad Batch (first introduced in The Clone Wars) as they find their way in a rapidly changing galaxy in the immediate aftermath of the Clone War. Members of Bad Batch – a unique squad of clones who vary genetically from their brothers in the Clone Army -- each possess a singular exceptional skill which makes them extraordinarily effective soldiers and a formidable crew. In the post-Clone War era, they will take on daring mercenary missions as they struggle to stay afloat and find new purpose.”

Agnes Chu, senior vice president, Content, Disney+ said in a statement:

“Giving new and existing fans the final chapter of ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ has been our honor at Disney+, and we are overjoyed by the global response to this landmark series. While the Clone Wars may have come to its conclusion, our partnership with the groundbreaking storytellers and artists at Lucasfilm Animation is only beginning.  We are thrilled to bring Dave Filoni’s vision to life through the next adventures of the Bad Batch.”  

The characters that make up The Bad Batch include Hunter, Crosshair, Tech, Wrecker, and Echo, and here’s some additional information on them:

The squad consisted of four clone troopers designed with genetic mutations. "Crosshair," a clone with brilliant eyesight abilities, "Wrecker," a reckless clone with enhanced muscular form, and "Tech," a clone with enhanced mental capacity and intelligence. They were led by Clone Sergeant "Hunter," a clone with enhanced sensory abilities. Each member of the squad had a skull icon on their clone trooper armor, which could be seen as their unofficial logo and helped set the four apart from other clone units. They called normal troopers by the nickname "regs." Following the Battle of Anaxes, Clone Corporal "Echo" joined the squad.

Clone Force 99 was named in remembrance of 99, a malformed maintenance clone who died while aiding the defense of Kamino from the Separatist invasion. The unit originated as a batch of clones who were born with "desirable" genetic mutations that made them superior soldiers. These mutations also had the unique effect of altering their appearance and voice greatly from regular clones. Each one of the members acquired certain abilities unique to the team. The team nicknamed themselves "The Bad Batch". While part of the army, they earned quite the reputation. They were known to have a 100% success rate. The squad worked together with Marshal Commander CC-2224 on certain occasions, but did not report to anyone in particular.

Dave Filoni is executive producing the series along with Athena Portillo (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels), Brad Rau (Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars Resistance), and Jennifer Corbett (Star Wars Resistance, NCIS) with Carrie Beck (The Mandalorian, Star Wars Rebels) as co-executive producer and Josh Rimes as producer (Star Wars Resistance). Rau is also serving as supervising director with Corbett as head writer.

This is awesome! I’m excited to see that this series is actually happening! This has the potential to be another great animated Star Wars series!