As someone who has seen (and loved) Season 1 of The Bad Batch, I know that voice actor Dee Bradley Baker plays five out of the six main characters because they are all clones. My brain knows this and understands this in theory. But it was not until I saw the live table read of a scene between Baker and his co-star, Michelle Ang (Omega) that I understood this on a visceral level, in my bones. I could not have been more impressed and delighted.
Supervising Director and Executive Producer Brad Rau explained that when they first started recording the voice work for the show, he asked Dee Bradley Baker if it would be easier to record all of Hunter’s lines, then all of Wrecker’s lines, then all of Tech’s lines, etc. Baker quickly and definitively said no; he wanted to record them all together, switching back and forth.
Attendees of the Sunday Celebration Stage panel had the privilege to see this live. Watching Baker so effortlessly alternate between the deep, gravelly voice of Hunter and the higher-pitched, nasally tone of Tech, for example, blew me away. He sometimes even interrupted himself as one character interjected or talked over another. It was seamless and flawless.
And the audience not only witnessed this during the live reading segment of the panel. During several interview portions, Baker often answered in character as a random member of Clone Force 99. Host, sound designer, and musicologist extraordinaire David W. Collins took full advantage when he realized Baker would do this, addressing some of his questions to specific characters. Baker’s ability to ad-lib responses that sounded like each character not only in form but in content was in of itself worth the price of admission.
In gushing over Baker’s talent, however, I don’t mean to ignore Michelle Ang, who may not be tasked with the vocal acrobatics that Baker has, but is equally brilliant in her portrayal of Omega. On the panel, she said that she loves working on this show because she gets the fun action adventure but also the heavier, more emotional scenes. She cited the moment in which Omega tells Crosshair that it’s not his fault as one of her favorites. (Same!)
Overall, The Bad Batch panel over-delivered. At most I thought we might get a teaser trailer and/or some concept art for next season, but instead we got the live performance by Michelle Ang and Dee Bradley Baker (with Rau reading stage directions), a first look at new gear for The Batch, an exclusive trailer (yes, it was slightly different than the one officially released online), a short clip from the first episode of the upcoming season, and a poster gifted to all panel attendees. That’s a lot. And all of it was amazing.
Aside from witnessing master voice actors at their craft, my favorite take away from the panel was seeing how time has passed since the end of Season 1. Omega looks noticeably older, more like a teen than a child, and has a more rugged outfit — complete with her own helmet! — that looks very cool.
This isn’t a new fit for the sake of generating splashy new content. To me, this reflects a narrative shift — that Omega can blend in with the rest of the galaxy rather than being completely out of place in it. That she has matured and leveled up her skills. She’s a survivor who can adapt. In the exclusive clip, we even see Tech quizzing Omega on Imperial ships and encouraging her to focus on her studies, which means she’s also becoming much more knowledgeable about the world around her.
The trailer and the clip from Season 2 Episode 1 showed us Omega’s new look in action, as well as an increased facility with her energy bow. New, giant crab-like aliens got the most screen time — and it’s great to see the weird creature tradition I associate with Star Wars continue — but the most notable threat we see is Emperor Palpatine, who appears very briefly in the trailer. Omega listens and watches him while crouching to stay hidden from view. I very much want to know how and why she is there.
More broadly, the footage I saw indicates that Omega and her brothers will have more direct run-ins with the Empire, perhaps while trying to heroically help others in need.
In many ways, seeing familiar faces defined the new trailer for the show. In addition to Palpatine, we see Commander Cody and Wookiee Jedi Fungi, whom fans would likely remember from a four-episode arc during Season 5 of The Clone Wars, which begins with Episode 6, “The Gathering.” The crowd audibly cheered or gasped at each and every returning character. And then, per Celebration tradition, they ran the trailer a second time, giving those who were too busy reacting to catch the lines missed.
It’s hard to believe I’ve made it this far without mentioning the original creator of The Bad Batch, Dave Filoni — that’s how I know this panel was brimming with goodness. Filoni made a brief appearance at the start of the panel to express gratitude and praise for the creative team behind the series, including panelists Rau, Head Writer Jen Corbett, and Story Editor Matt Michnovetz. He said, “…like the Jedi say, you have to pass on what you have learned. So when I knew I’d be transitioning to live action and that would take me away from a lot of my duties in animation, I had to find people who…could hold up that legacy.” This panel confirms that he found the right people.
I cannot wait for Season 2 to premiere on Disney Plus on September 28th.
Jen Sopchockchai Bankard is an Associate Professor of Writing at the University of California and has been a Star Wars fan since she wore out VHS tapes of the Original Trilogy in middle school and watched the Prequel Trilogy in theaters in high school and college. She has been a guest on the Rebel Base Card podcast and The ColbyCast. For in-depth reviews of all new Star Wars releases, visit and subscribe (for free!) to The Long Take.
Instagram and Twitter: @sopchockchai