Star Wars will take a new direction with the release of The Bad Batch during its run on Disney+, making history in the process.
Fans recently got their eyes on the first trailer for Season 2 of The Bad Batch thanks to an unexpected post on the main Disney+ website, showing the fandom what Hunter, Wrecker, Omega, and the team will have to face across the galaxy. This season will even include a couple of classic Star Wars clones like Commander Cody from the original trilogy and Captain Rex from The Clone Wars, touching on plenty of Star Wars story threads from the 21st century.
The show is set to arrive on Disney+ shortly after the new year begins, complete with the first two episodes both arriving on the streaming network on January 4.
But while a two-episode premiere is far from uncommon during Disney's streaming era, The Bad Batch will take a more unique route with the release of later episodes as well.
Double Finale Release for The Bad Batch
According to the official press release for Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 2, the season will conclude on March 29 with both Episode 15 and Episode 16 being released simultaneously. This is the first time that any Disney+ show has released two episodes in the finale week of its season.
Additionally, on top of the double season-opener and the double-season finale, there will be a third instance of two episodes premiering at once for the mid-season finale on February 8 with Episode 7 and Episode 8.
- Jan. 4 — Episode 201 “Spoils of War” & Episode 202 “Ruins of War"
- Feb. 8 — Episode 207 “The Clone Conspiracy” & Episode 208 “Truth and Consequences”
- March 29 — Episode 215 “The Summit” & Episode 216 “Plan 99"
For reference, below are nearly a dozen shows from Marvel, Star Wars, and other franchises under Disney's watch that have had multiple episodes come in season premieres:
- WandaVision: 2-episode season premiere
- The Right Stuff: 2-episode season premiere
- The Mysterious Benedict Society: Season 1, 2 episode season premiere; Season 2, 2 episode season premiere
- Hawkeye: 2-episode season premiere
- Obi-Wan Kenobi: 2 episode season premiere
- Andor: 3-episode season premiere
- Willow: 2-episode season premiere
- National Treasure: Edge of History: 2-episode season premiere
- The Santa Clauses: 2-episode season premiere
- Monsters at Work: 2-episode season premiere
- The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder: 2 episode season premiere
Big Events for Bad Batch Season 2 Premieres?
Looking at the history of all TV shows as a whole, fans have seen a number of instances where a show ended with two episodes in one night. For example, ABC's Agents of SHIELD actually used this tactic four separate times with Seasons 2 and 3 along with Seasons 6 and 7, all of which aired within the past decade.
The biggest thing to gather from this instance is that The Bad Batch has some kind of big event planned for the final two episodes of the season while also shortening the overall length of Season 2 on Disney+. Unfortunately, the episode titles don't do much to tease any actual story details with only one trailer released this far, although "Plan 99" should tease something pretty personal for Clone Force 99.
All that's clear is that Lucasfilm has some big plans with The Bad Batch's next set of episodes, which should make major events out of the three weeks of double episode premieres.
The Bad Batch Season 2 will premiere with two episodes on Disney+ on January 4, 2023.
