Star Wars offered a glimpse at where fans can expect the Bad Batch to next appear after Season 3 of the animated streaming series.
The Bad Batch on Disney+ bridged the gap between The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels with a story centered on a group of rogue clones making their way into the galaxy after the devastation of Order 66.
The three-season adventure ended in May 2024, revealing the consequences of the Bad Batch's actions in helping to raise a female Clone known as Omega.
The series ended with Omega growing up and shipping off to join the rebellion following The Bad Batch foiling of The Empire's Project Necromancer (for now), leaving many to question what exactly came of both her and the rest of the Batch.
The Bad Batch's Next Adventure Revealed
Following the events of The Bad Batch Season 3, the Bad Batch's next adventure was officially revealed.
Clone Force 99 will be the focus of a new comic book story from renowned publisher Dark Horse Comics, which will be released early next year.
The five-issue arc will start on January 15, 2025 and is officially titled Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories: The Bad Batch: Ghost Agents.
Michael Moreci will write the story, and Reese Hannigan, Elisabetta D’Amico, and Michael Atiyeh will illustrate it. Comicraft will letter it.
According to its announcement press release, the Bad Batch's next adventure will follow the team as they head out "on a mission to hunt down [a] mysterious Separatist ghost agent:"
"The Clones of the Bad Batch have been through some intense missions throughout the Clone Wars and it’s said they have a 100% success rate. But this time, they may have met their match. In 'Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories: The Bad Batch: Ghost Agents,' they are on a mission to hunt down the mysterious Separatist ghost agent who executed a daring heist on Coruscant! The thief’s trail leads Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, and Tech to the seediest corners of the galaxy, a place where kingpins and thugs threaten the clones’ mission—and their lives!"
The story seems to occur before the Batch appears on-screen in The Bad Batch or Star Wars Clone Wars.
This is evident by the lack of the young female clone Omega coming along for the journey (as she is introduced in Season 1, Episode 7 of Bad Batch) and characters like the big-brained Tech being alive despite dying later in The Bad Batch series.
Moreci described the adventure ahead, comparing the team to "1980s action heroes dropped into the Star Wars universe:"
"I think everyone who knows my Star Wars work knows I love the 'Clone Wars. And the Bad Batch is probably my favorite part of that. They're just so cool and unique; they're like 1980s action heroes dropped into the Star Wars universe, and I love that. I'm after that look and feel--it's going to be a lot of fun, and I'm just thrilled to bring more Bad Batch stories to life!"
The cover for the first issue was also unveiled. It features the Bad Batch leaping from a shrapnel-spewing explosion, potentially teasing the epic tale yet to come for the team.
Do the Bad Batch Have a Future in Star Wars?
With it having been nearly 18 months since The Bad Batch Season 3 came to its emotional end, surely, the news that Clone Force 99 is coming back in some form will be exciting to many.
But, beyond this comic book effort, what do Lucasfilm and Star Wars have in store for the lovable intergalactic A-team?
Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories: The Bad Batch: Ghost Agents is the only Star Wars: Clone Wars or Bad Batch-adjacent project on the horizon.
However, that is not to say it will be the last. As the author of the upcoming comic, Michael Moreci said, "I'm just thrilled to bring more Bad Batch stories to life." This could mean Clone Force 99 and the surrounding characters may not be done in the Star Wars universe.
The most logical next step for the team would be to write even more comic stories about their various adventures from the Clone Wars era and some side stories from the events of The Bad Batch series.
While tying up the show in a touching bow, The Bad Batch Season 3 left some questions that could still be answered if Lucasfilm were to follow up on the animated series in some way.
No plans for a further animated show in the style of Clone Wars have been made public, but evidence has been mounting that the sci-fi giant is pursuing more in the animated sphere. According to several job board posts spotted by Star Wars News Net in July 2024, Lucasfilm has been hiring animators to work on an unnamed project.
This mystery project could potentially be the Bad Batrch successor fans have been waiting for, showing off Omega's adventures after leaving her adopted dad to join the rebellion at the end of the series.
Data from earlier this year suggested that The Bad Batch is still one of the most popular titles on Disney+. So, Lucasfilm would be wise to pursue even more stories centered on the fan-favorite clone squadron.
The Bad Batch is just one of many animated Star Wars series streaming on Disney+.
