Ever since The Clone Wars was initially canceled back in 2013, Star Wars managed to keep its animated side alive and well both with Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars Resistance. But the legacy and appeal behind the series idealized by George Lucas was strong enough to grant it a final season that aired last year, with a wonderfully satisfying conclusion. But even then Lucasfilm was looking towards the future, by introducing The Bad Batch on a four-episode arc, which is what lead the team to their own show that is about to premiere.
By sustaining such strong connective tissue to its predecessor, it’s no surprise that it felt so important to also maintain the sense of visual continuity between both series.
Supervising director and Executive Producer Brad Rau:
It’s very intentional. The Bad Batch is a spiritual successor to The Clone Wars. We wanted to honor the style and the legacy of that. That being said, the whole team at Lucasfilm and our partners tightened everything up. So the fidelity is tighter. The style is tighter. The rigs are tighter. The way it’s designed is still the legacy of The Clone Wars but with a little more detail. With a little bit more focus. And the work we’re doing, for me, having worked on a lot of these other shows with a lot of the same people, I think we’re doing out best work ever right now. It’s really fun.
The animation style that The Clone Wars presented us with in 2008 has gone through a number of improvements over the years, constantly adapting to the available technology. But there’s no denying that it has become a staple of the show. So being, managing to pay tribute to it in a way that enriches a visual style that’s been evolving for over ten years without losing focus of what made it special to begin with, is certainly something we can agree with.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch will premiere exclusively on Disney+ on May 4, 2021, as a way to celebrate Star Wars Day, with a special 70-minute episode. The following episodes, which will have a more usual runtime of around 30 minutes, will be released on Fridays, starting with episode 2 on the 7th.
