Will Darth Vader appear in The Bad Batch Season 2?

Season 2 of The Bad Batch is upon us — and soon everyone will be talking about which characters might make a surprise appearance in the next episode from week to week.

Will Darth Vader be one of those surprise appearances this season?

Will Darth Vader appear in The Bad Batch Season 2?

Every time an official Star Wars creator talks about cameos in Star Wars, fans get excited and start predicting who might show up in the next TV show. Vader is a common pick because, well, he’s Vader. Even if James Earl Jones never records new voiceover for him again, the character will keep living on in these stories until they stop making Star Wars.

But Vader in The Bad Batch Season 2 specifically is a tough call. He has just as much of a chance of appearing as pretty much any other character at this point. The real question would be his purpose in the show and whether or not it would add anything significant to the story.

Why Darth Vader won’t appear in The Bad Batch (probably)

Darth Vader is an iconic, complex, and worthwhile Star Wars character. He was the main villain of the Original Trilogy, the prequel films built up to his rise, and his presence even lingered in the sequels. He has appeared in books, multiple comics series, and multiple Star Wars TV shows over the past four decades.

Vader is cool. But he does not need to — and probably shouldn’t — appear in everything. A show like The Bad Batch benefits from focusing on the people impacted by the Empire’s rule over the galaxy rather than on those doing the ruling. Could Vader show up? Possibly. But it’s unlikely, especially considering the time period in which the show takes place.

What is Vader doing at this point, anyway?

A year or so after The Clone Wars, the Sith Lord has a lot going on. He’s on a mission to hunt down Jedi survivors (there seem to be a lot of them, it turns out), he’s trying to prove to his master again and again that he’s worthy … and he’s probably still getting used to that awful suit.

If Clone Force 99 happens to find themselves affiliated with some former Jedi, perhaps there’s a chance the red-bladed villain could make an appearance. But — for reasons stated above — it’s probably not necessary. Especially since, at this point, very few likely know who Vader is or why he’s around.

Other stories have covered his life around this time. For a show like this, it would be much more interesting to hear whispers of a figure like him, the audience knowing who he is but the show’s characters remaining in the dark.

Season 2 of The Bad Batch premieres January 4, 2023 exclusively on Disney+.

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