Disney+ has officially announced The Bad Batch has been renewed for season 2, which will premiere in 2022. The Star Wars animated series, which follows a rogue squad of clone troopers in the aftermath of the Clone War, debuted on Disney+ on Star Wars Day, May 4. The first series of The Bad Batch has received some criticism from fans for being inconsistent at times, but the general response to the show from both fans and critics has been favorable.
The Bad Batch premiered with a 72-minute episode, "Aftermath," setting up the premise, before settling into a run of 30-minute episodes, 16 in total, with the end-of-season two-parter streaming August 6 and 13 on Disney+. The opener begins where the animated series The Clone Wars left off, just as Order 66 is issued to kill the Jedi. Clone Force 99 quickly learn the Empire has replaced the Republic. They meet and befriend another defective clone, a young girl called Omega, voiced by Michelle Ang. Most of the clone troopers are voiced by Dee Bradley Baker.
Disney+ announced The Bad Batch has been renewed for season 2, ending speculation as to whether Clone Force 99 would be given the opportunity to continue their adventures. As season 1 nears its endpoint, there are still a lot of plot threads left to tie up, so a second season to continue these stories makes sense. Michael Paull, President of Disney+ and ESPN+, said in a press release, “Fans have enthusiastically embraced the action and drama of “Star Wars: The Bad Batch,” and we are excited to see the Star Wars animated universe continue to expand on Disney+.”
The renewal of The Bad Batch for a second season is far from being the only new Star Wars content coming to Disney+. The Book of Boba Fett is set to begin streaming in December this year, The Mandalorian season 3 is scheduled to start filming soon and Obi-Wan Kenobi is currently in production. Ahsoka, Andor, Lando, and Rogue Squadron are other titles being worked on, with release dates for these new franchise offerings scheduled into 2023.
The announcement that The Bad Batch will return in 2022 comes at the perfect time, just as the first season draws to a close. New and old fans have yet to find out if the entirety of the Clone Force 99 squad survives the events of the two-part finale. The hope is that Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, Echo, and Omega will all be back for more confrontations with their former colleague, Crosshair, whose inhibitor chip was enhanced to turn him against his squad back in the very first episode. Fans will also be hoping for possible appearances of established Star Wars characters in the next season, as there has already been a tease that Darth Maul may turn up at some point. Now it's confirmed they will get the opportunity to see the story unfold some more.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch releases new episodes Fridays on Disney+.
Source: Disney+
