It has been a day full of emotion for Star Wars fans. Along with May the 4th, the yearly holiday celebrating everything from the galaxy far, far away, The Bad Batch premiered on Disney+ with a cameo-filled near 70-minute debut.
The Bad Batch is the third original Star Wars project to hit the streaming service, joining the final season of The Clone Wars and Season 1 and 2 of The Mandalorian .
Alongside those previous Disney+ Star Wars titles came a Marvel Studios-like stinger opening, showcasing various icons from throughout the canon. And what seemed like a stagnant new fixture to Disney+ Star Wars viewing may be a bit more dynamic than previously thought.
A NEW INTRO FOR A NEW SERIES
In the opening of The Bad Batch's debut episode, "Aftermath", a new version of the Star Wars opening can be seen. This fresh fanfare features iconic silhouettes from the animated side of the Star Wars universe, in place of the traditional Skywalker Saga stinger seen before The Mandalorian Seasons 1 and 2.
Each character is featured for a split second while a blue or red light pulsates across the screen.
The first showcased is General Grievous from the prequel trilogy, The Clone Wars, and The Bad Batch .
The next character is Bucket from Star Wars: Resistance.
Phoenix Squadron's sassy little droid Chopper from Rebels is highlighted third.
The Bad Batch character Crosshair follows Chop in the stinger.
Next, the head of the iconic BX Commando Droid from various Clone Wars episodes flashes.
Then, the second member of Clone Force 99 of The Bad Batch , Wrecker, pops up.
That then transitions into an Imperial AT-DP driver helmet.
Second to last is Bo-Katan's Mandalorian full-face from Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Rebels.
And finally, an unnamed Revenge of the Sith -era clone trooper closes out the stinger with the Star Wars logo fading into view.
AN ANIMATED FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH
This is exciting to see!
What started out as a cool little intro to Star Wars projects on Disney's streaming service is now something to actually watch closely and comb through in new releases.
This was something unexpected for fans after first seeing this intro for the first time with The Mandalorian Season 1. Disney had no need to change things up, but since The Bad Batch expands on the already stellar lineup of Star Wars animated content, it's cool to see the House of Mouse pull an audible and showcase some of the series' animated fan-favorites.
Could this mean that a different intro could be debuted with each new Star Wars title on Disney+? Maybe, but highly unlikely. This will likely be the stinger to kick off all animated projects on the service.
One thing to note from this new intro is the prominent use of Rebels characters. Even though the show did not get much love when it came to a new header image on Disney+, it seems Kathleen Kennedy and co. have not forgotten the crew of The Ghost. With The Bad Batch now rolling, the water out of the Clone Wars era well may be running dry. This is not the case with Rebels whatsoever.
Where is Ezra Bridger? What are Ahsoka Tano and Bo-Katan up to? What's going on with Thrawn? Could General Grievous make his much-anticpated return in Obi-Wan Kenobi? These are all questions that could still be answered.
But for now, fans will have to do with sixteen episodes of the so far excellent Bad Batch .
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