Star Wars: The Bad Batch takes place after Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but how much time has passed between the end of one series and the start of the next? The Bad Batch is the latest Star Wars show to debut on Disney+. After branching out into live-action television with The Mandalorian, Lucasfilm returned to animation with a continuation of The Clone Wars. Season 7 of Clone Wars premiered last year and brought closure to the prematurely canceled series, but it also helped set the stage for what happens next in a galaxy far, far away.
The Bad Batch, a.k.a. Clone Force 99, for example, are first introduced in The Clone Wars season 7, and the clone trooper who most recently joined their ranks, Echo, is rescued after being presumed dead from an earlier mission. The bulk of The Clone Wars season 7, however, is focused on the former Jedi, Ahsoka Tano, and the role she plays prior to and during Order 66. In season 7’s final string of episodes, Ahsoka is with Captain Rex and other clone troopers when the order is given, and saves not just herself but Rex as well by removing his inhibitor chip.
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In Star Wars: The Bad Batch‘s season 1 premiere, the immediate aftermath of Order 66 is shown again, only this time the focus is with Clone Force 99. The team is helping Master Depa Billaba and her padawan, Caleb Dume, clear out the last of the Separatists’ forces on Kaller. During the battle, Billaba’s squad receives the command from Palpatine to execute the Jedi and Billaba is killed, but Dume is able to escape since the Bad Batch aren’t compelled to obey Order 66 due to their mutations. The Bad Batch uses this moment to highlight how Clone Force 99 is different from the other clones, but by beginning the series with Order 66, it also reveals exactly where The Bad Batch falls in the Star Wars timeline. The Bad Batch season 1 begins its story just as The Clone Wars season 7 is winding down, with the two actually overlapping for a brief stretch since Order 66 comes in The Clone Wars‘ penultimate episode.
From there, The Bad Batch‘s story continues into the earliest days of the Galactic Empire, focusing again on the clones and what takes place on their homeworld of Kamino. These events likely come after the last time Ahsoka and Rex appear in The Clone Wars, with their departure from the moon where Ahsoka leaves her lightsaber happening not long after Order 66 is given. The Clone Wars season 7’s final scene, however, of Darth Vader visiting the moon and discovering Ahsoka’s abandoned saber is thought to take place months later, putting it further in the future than The Bad Batch‘s season 1 premiere.
As The Bad Batch season 1 progresses, it’s sure to eclipse that Vader scene, with it even possible the Sith Lord could feature in an upcoming episode. Already, Admiral Tarkin plays a significant role in The Bad Batch, and as Clone Force 99 travels the galaxy, they’re sure to run into more characters from this era of Star Wars. Captain Rex, for example, is confirmed to return, and with how closely the two series are set, it wouldn’t be surprising if he isn’t the only other Clone Wars character to appear. The Bad Batch picks up the saga exactly where The Clone Wars leaves off: in the wake of the Republic’s collapse, with Clone Force 99 set to experience the earliest days of the Empire’s dominance over the galaxy.
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