Starwars.com dropped a new Bad Batch Trailer this morning along with the news that the series will be live on Disney+ on May 4, 2021! Check out the trailer and official press release from Starwars.com below!
If you can’t get enough Bad Batch before then, you can always re-watch Clone Wars Season 7, grab the Bad Batch Screen Comix graphic novel, or grab yourself some Bad Batch Black Series figures!
As far as comic book speculation goes, It looks like the speculation that the Bad Batch (or Clone Force 99) is the same as the Stormtrooper SCAR Squadron (Task Force 99 seen below) is a bit suspect at this point in time. The trailer makes it appear that Tarkin is hunting the Bad Batch as rogue clones who disobey orders.
My assumption is that Tarkin wants to destroy the Bad Batch. I think he even says as much. Of course, this could all be a red herring to throw us off the scent, and Tarkin may win out in the end and reprogram these clones into Task Force 99. However, the evidence is pointing against this.
For starters, Clone Force 99 is organized under Sergeant “Hunter” whose homeworld is Kamino (like all clones). Task Force 99 is organized under Sergeant Kreel whose homeworld is Chagar IX. Hunter has a half-face skull tattoo whereas Kreel does not (so it appears). Kree joins SCAR Squadron (Task Force 99) after his undercover mission with Grakkus the Hutt on Nar Shadaa (Star Wars 10-12 (2015)). He joins as their sergeant and states in issue 21 that their prior sergeant had been with them “for years”. He could be referring to Hunter, but we don’t know right now. The rest of the squad could be reprogrammed clones, but again, that’s just a speculative leap at this point.
Some of the other members share archetypes, but nothing enough to hang our hats on I think.
At any rate, Kreel first appears as Grakkus the Hutt’s Gamemaster in Star Wars 10 (2015), he’s first identified as Agent 5241 in #11, First identified as Kreel in #12, Kreel first appears with SCAR Squadron (Task Force 99) in #19, and the squadron is first identified by name in Star Wars #21. I’ll note that issue 19 is what I would call a cameo. Three troopers appear and Kreel is in Stormtrooper armor which we’ve never seen him in before. It’s two pages at the end of the issue with no names and no mention of SCAR Squadron or Task Force 99. The only clue is that the leader has a green lightsaber which Kree had in issues 10-12.
Each of these can be purchased relatively inexpensively at this time.
For now, just strap in and watch the new Bad Batch trailer! It’s pretty nuts!
Official Trailer – Star Wars: The Bad Batch on Disney Video
From Starwars.com:
Lucasfilm and The Walt Disney Company announced today that Star Wars: The Bad Batch — the next Star Wars animated series – will debut on May the 4th, a.k.a Star Wars Day, exclusively on Disney+, with the second episode premiering on Friday, May 7. Subsequent episodes will premiere on Fridays. The series follows the elite and experimental troopers of Clone Force 99 (first introduced in Star Wars: 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, as they prefer to be called — 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.
