The Bad Batch's Dee Bradley Baker On Why The Series 'Feels Like The Star Wars That George Lucas Made' - Exclusive
Anyone familiar with the animated "Star Wars" series "The Clone Wars" and "The Bad Batch" knows how their stories are expertly woven in and around the final installment of the "Star Wars" live-action prequel trilogy, "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith." Of course, one of the most significant events to run concurrently in "The Clone Wars" and "Revenge of the Sith" is Order 66, the cataclysmic directive created by Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), programming the minds of the clone troopers to turn against the Jedi and exterminate them.
In the 7th and final season of "The Clone Wars," a group of genetically altered clone troopers dubbed the "Bad Batch" is introduced, and remarkably, they defy Order 66. Since 2021, the group's story, which largely takes place in the aftermath of Order 66, has been told in a series of its own. Providing the voices for the clone troopers with distinct looks and personalities, named Wrecker, Tech, Echo, Hunter, and Crosshair, is legendary voice actor Dee Bradley Baker, who has previously voiced clones and several other characters in "The Clone Wars" and "Rebels," in addition to other "Star Wars" projects.
In an exclusive interview with Looper, Dee Bradley Baker said he was thrilled to reprise his voice roles for a 2nd season of "The Bad Batch" — new on Disney+ — especially because of how it is tied to the last direct creation of "Star Wars" icon George Lucas.
Baker loves how the animated series tie into the live-action Star Wars stories
"Star Wars: The Bad Batch" Season 2 begins months after the destruction of the clones' home of Kamino in Season 1. In addition to featuring the Bad Batch clones, Season 2 also features the return of Omega (Michelle Ang) — a young female clone who becomes a part of the clone troopers' family in Season 1 — as the group desperately continues to elude the Empire.
Discussing how he loves the way "The Clone Wars" and "The Bad Batch" intertwine with the live-action prequel trilogy, Dee Bradley Baker said the two series have become "a beautiful fulfillment of the 'Star Wars' stories."
"I know it's a priority of [executive producer] Dave Filoni [to have the series feel like the] "Star Wars" [movies] that George Lucas made with his tone and style," Baker said. "Lucas took things in very big and interesting, unexpected turns after the nimble start with 'Episode IV,' and then [he went] back to the prequels, where it goes big with this very ambitious, larger political-military reality that's playing out."
Baker praises Disney for investing in the future of Star Wars
Having worked on so many animated "Star Wars" projects, Dee Bradley Baker explained how he is grateful for the way Disney keeps charging ahead with more stories in the "Star Wars" universe. Since its acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012, the company has produced not only more "Star Wars" films but also live-action and animated series to expand the tales set "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away."
"They invested in these little offshoots of stories that all fit together into the larger canon of what's playing out," Baker told Looper. "But they made it all interesting, and now they can go back and can fill out interesting details from before that fulfill the current story that's being pursued. It's really fun to see how beautifully all of these stories fit together and how they coexist in a friendly way. From my point of view, even if it's stuff that seems like it's a simpler version or it's a kinder version — or for a younger version or all the way up to 'Andor' — it all feels like it fits together. It's very exciting to be part of all this very thriving creative empire as it plays out."
"Star Wars: The Bad Batch" Season 2 is streaming exclusively on Disney+, with new episodes premiering every Wednesday through March 29.