The Season 3 trailer for Star Wars: The Bad Batch was released. Premiering February 21 with a 3-episode drop, this will be the final season of the popular animated series. The 2-minute trailer is a non-stop hype train getting us ready for the upcoming adventure, and a few moments stand out. Here are 5 reveals from the trailer and let's speculate on what it means for the series.
1. Omega's Been Gone How Long?
After Season 2 ended with the loss of Tech and the capture of Omega, the question was always going to be, "How are they going to get her back?" While Season 3 will hopefully answer that question, we learn it hasn't been a speedy operation. Hunter plainly tells Wrecker, "Omega has been waiting for us for a long time." How long has it been? Based on appearances, it may be a year or more, and her morale would indicate that her hope of rescue may be dwindling. We haven't taken a considerable time jump yet in the series, but it looks as though we are primed to. It'll be interesting to learn just how long it's been.
2. The Emperor's Grand Plan
We're going to be spending more time on Mount Tantiss this season, with the Emperor doubling down on his cloning efforts. We see Emperor Palpatine, flanked by Dr. Hemlock and Nala Se, explaining that "There is nothing of greater importance to secure the future of this Empire" and that all resources are at their disposal. We know from the sequel trilogy and The Mandalorian the importance of cloning to the Empire and later the Imperial Remnant. I suspect more about how those experiments are applied to clones like Omega and Crosshair. It will be exciting to see what comes of Dr. Hemlock and his cloning project at the end of Season 3.
3. Who is CX-1?
The trailer showcases a new Imperial Commander clad all-black, similar to Crosshair's previous armor. He has a similar rangefinder to the one that Crosshair had. Who is this mysterious soldier? Is this a reformed Crosshair? Is this a new 'clone' created from experiments on Crosshair? If you watch the trailer with the captions on, we later see a clone named CX-1 speak. In Season 2, we are introduced to an assassin named Clone X, whose armor resembles the set worn in the trailer. Is CX-1 an upgrade to Clone X, and is he our new commander? Could it actually be a brainwashed Tech? We'll just have to wait and see.
4. Familiar Faces
The trailer shows us many familiar faces returning for the final act. While stalwarts like Captain Rex are expected, others like Fennec Shand, Cad Bane, and Commander Wolffe are more surprising. With Omega already captured, what use do Fennec and Cad have showing up? Are they being hired by the team to help rescue her? In another scene, we see Clone Commander Wolffe leading a squad of troopers. Will we see him defect and help the team? We know Wolffe survives to Star Wars Rebels with Rex and Gregor. A later scene, albeit brief, shows what appears to be a 187th and Shock Clone Troopers; my prediction is that Wolffe, along with other clone remnants, might be the cavalry who arrive for the series finale.
5. The Return of Asajj Ventress
The biggest surprise of the whole trailer was the massive reveal of none other than Asajj Ventress. This reveal was quite a shock for those familiar with Star Wars: Dark Disciple. However, Supervising director Brad Rau quickly pointed out that any new storytelling with Ventress would align with the novel. With that out of the way, we see Asajj with her new yellow-bladed saber, though the hilts appear curved like her original Clone Wars sabers. The big question is, how did she survive? And who is she fighting in the trailer? The trailer is edited to imply she is fighting the Bad Batch, but what if she ends up fighting with them? She has no love lost for the Empire, which would make for an exciting direction. Only time will tell.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch premieres February 21st only on Disney+