“Star Wars: The Bad Batch” Premieres Today: Here’s Everything We Know

The most badass clones in the galaxy.

Star Wars Day is here, so it's only fitting that Disney’s latest Star Wars series The Bad Batch is arriving today. 

The original animated series created by Dave Filoni—the mastermind behind The Mandalorian and The Clone Wars TV shows—debuts today with a mega 70-minute episode for Star Wars fans to indulge in.

To get you prepped and ready for the new series, here’s everything we know.

What’s The Bad Batch about?

Clone Force 99, aka the Bad Batch, are a team of five elite clone troopers with genetic mutations that take on dangerous mercenary missions in the wake of the Clone Wars.

In a galaxy now under the power of The Empire, the Bad Batch go rogue and defy the orders of Emperor Palpatine and Order 66.

Who’s in it?

The Clone troopers in the Bad Batch are Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, Crosshair and Echo. Each of them are voiced by well-known voice actor Dee Bradley Baker (The Clone Wars, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Clone Wars). Joining the Bad Batch on their missions is a mysterious girl from Kamino, Omega, voiced by Kiwi actress Michelle Ang.

Outside of them, Grand Moff Tarkin (Stephen Stanton) will serve as the series' main villain; Rogue One’s freedom fighter Saw Gerrera (Andrew Kishino) will appear; and Fennec Shand, an elite mercenary sniper—voiced by the original Mulan voice-actress Ming-Na Wen—rounds out the character list.

How can I watch The Bad Batch?

Star Wars: The Bad Batch premieres today 4 May on Disney+ to celebrate Star Wars Day.

The first episode will be a special 70-minutes long, which is awesome, but don’t get used to it as the remaining 15 episodes are expected to be around the standard 30-minute mark.

A handy tip to remember is that the series will be moving back to Disney+’s standard Friday release day after its premiere today. That means it’s only a three-day wait for Episode 2!

Do I need to watch anything do prepare?

Though it’s not crucial to watch everything Star Wars to get prepped for The Bad Batch, there are a few things you can watch to familiarise yourself with the universe.

In Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the Bad Batch were introduced in a four-episode story arc in Season 7 (Episodes 1 – 4). This will give a brief backstory to the history of the Bad Batch, but at the same time we’re certain the new series will introduce the crew to new viewers.

Aside from that, it can’t hurt to refresh yourself on the plot of the prequel film trilogy which all lead to the creation of the Empire, Darth Vader and Order 66 which presumably the Bad Batch will disobey.

The posters for The Bad Batch are so damn good pic.twitter.com/c6fob7faN6

— Ajay (@AjayTheSWGuy) April 29, 2021

The Bad Batch is available to watch today for subscribers to Disney+. (Affiliate disclosure: Student Edge may earn a commission if you click that link and buy a product from our partner’s page.)

Header Image: Star Wars