In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, The Bad Batch producer, Brad Rau, touched on the possibility for main character deaths in the series' future. The Bad Batch, a follow-up series to the widely praised The Clone Wars, debuted on Disney+ in May 2021. Created by Dave Filoni, known for his work on The Mandalorian and other Star Wars projects, the animated series picks up after the finale of The Clone Wars, focusing on a special group of rogue clones called the Bad Batch.
The series centers around the team of enhanced clones first introduced to fans in season 7 of The Clone Wars. Hunter, Echo, Tech, Wrecker, and Crosshair (all voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) find themselves on the outskirts of Kaller when Order 66 activates the clones' inhibitor chips—but not all of them. Upon returning to Kamino, Clone Force 99 learns that the newly-founded Empire has won the war. After sharing their suspicions about the Empire, Crosshair—the only member whose inhibitor chip worked—quickly turns against the rest of team, forcing the remaining 4 clones to flee Kamino with Omega (Michelle Ang) in tow, a human girl also looking to escape the planet. The Bad Batch now has to fend for themselves while escaping bounty hunters and the lingering shadow of the Empire.
While sitting down with Screen Rant, Rau, the show's producer, touched on the opportunity for more in-depth character exploration in future episodes of The Bad Batch. Despite Clone Force 99's relatively brief history in the Star Wars franchise, the group of underdog clones have already become fan-favorites. With such widely loved characters, the future of the Bad Batch could go in any direction—which could include some major character deaths. Rau said:
You’re going to make me sad! I mean, the interesting thing with these characters is that they’re familiar and yet we haven’t, as fans, seen that much about them. So this creates an opportunity for us to take characters and explore them further. I think where they may go is to be determined. As far as the perspective of the audience, it’s a powerful thing. Certainly you can tell a strong, dramatic story even if you know what a character’s endpoint is, but when you don’t know what a character’s endpoint is, it creates a lot of interesting opportunities.
Filoni takes a different, more heartfelt approach to the clones audiences first saw in the Star Wars prequel films. Throughout The Clone Wars and now, in The Bad Batch, the clones display a sense of genuine brotherhood amongst each other, making Order 66 just that much more heartbreaking. Fans of the animated Star Wars series have seen the tragic death of Fives as he tried to expose Palpatine, Crosshair's descent into the Empire, and 99's heroic sacrifice. Given that so many clones saw a tragic end, it wouldn't come as a complete surprise to see The Bad Batch series take a similar route.
Despite the finale of The Clone Wars being somewhat soaked in tragedy, The Bad Batch manages to keep the groups' whacky sense of humor and charisma. Their wildly different personalities, from Tech's razor-sharp intellect, to Hunter's stoic approach to leadership, to Omega's youthful outlook on the universe, all contribute to some funny ensemble moments. The "found family" trope seems to be a favorite of Filoni's, with The Mandalorian's father-son relationship, and Anakin and Ahsoka's brother-sister dynamic in The Clone Wars, serving as highlights for each of the series. While Rau didn't confirm any major character deaths for now, fans of the recent Star Wars series have come to expect lots of dramatic, heartfelt, and potentially heartbreaking storylines, and The Bad Batch is no exception. With plenty of tearjerking moments already, Clone Force 99's future could be full of gritty, emotional character growth. But if Star Wars' past animated series are anything to go by, the show will leave fans eager for more.