When Star Wars: The Bad Batch premiered in 2021, fans were excited to return to the galaxy far, far away, and spend some more time with Clone Force 99 (all voiced by Dee Bradley Baker), who were first introduced in the "Bad Batch" arc of Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7. The misfit clones — Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, Tech, and Echo — had remarkable potential as an inside look at the early days of the Empire, through the eyes of five men created for the sole purpose of fighting on behalf of the Republic.
However, one glaring sore spot in the new series was the appearance of the titular Bad Batch themselves. Their genetically-coded unique skill sets make them look slightly different from the other identical clones: Tech's glasses, Hunter's longer hair, Crosshair and Wrecker's different builds. Echo's years spent hooked up to a computer also makes him look a little more drawn than the others. This, however, is not where the issue lies.
As established in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, all clones created for the Grand Army of the Republic are clones of bounty hunter Jango Fett, played by Temuera Morrison, a MÄori man. While by and large, the clones in both The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch look like a 2002-era Morrison, the Bad Batch themselves are far lighter-skinned, leading to fans creating the hashtag movement #UnwhitewashTheBadBatch.
In a 1-on-1 interview with Collider's own Maggie Lovitt, The Bad Batch director Brad Rau addressed the fan-driven movement, saying that the team had gone back to correct the previously-released episodes. As Rau said:
We listened to all the concerns of the fans. Interestingly, in Season 1, before season one came out, we're always doing this, we went back to look at the skin tones, and we made some corrections to make sure that we're being true to the legacy of the clones in Clone Wars. Absolutely, 100%.
Did They Unwhitewash The Bad Batch?
As previously presented in the trailer for Season 1, the heroes of the series—the ones who managed to break Imperial conditioning—were presented with far lighter-skin, and more Eurocentric features than their more rigid, obedient counterparts, which plays into ugly stereotypes. By comparing the Season 1 trailer to both footage from Season 1 currently on Disney+ and the trailer for Season 2, there is some merit to what Rau is saying. The Batch—with the exception of Echo—do appear darker than they did in the first trailer. But taking only the Season 2 trailer into account, the concerns that some fans have pointed out are still glaringly obvious.
Take, for instance, the moment in the trailer that cuts between Cody—one of the Regs, and a character who has appeared both in animation and been portrayed by Morrison in live-action—and Crosshair. The two men are meant to be clones born from the same original sample, but don't bear much resemblance to one another, and not just in terms of aesthetic (leaner build, more or less hair etc.)
It is worth noting, however, that Season 2 of The Bad Batch was nearly completed when Season 1 premiered, owing to the long production time required for an animated series. If the concerns of fans are being heard, then hopefully a potential Season 3 will bring with it more significant changes, not only as to what appears on screen, but also in the behind-the-scenes team working so hard to tell these stories in the first place.
The Bad Batch Season 2 premieres on Disney+ on January 4. You can check out the trailer below: