Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3 is bringing back Sith assassin Asajj Ventress, a Clone Wars return of more significance than viewers may realize. Lucasfilm’s award-winning animated series The Bad Batch has been serving as a spiritual successor to The Clone Wars, and a capstone to the prequel trilogy era of Star Wars stories. It has depicted the end of the Republic and its transition into the Empire on a more personal level than the movies, and has even literally retired things like the cloning facility on Kamino, with its sad destruction.
The trailer for Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3 revealed the animated show is bringing back Count Dooku’s dark side apprentice, former Jedi Asajj Ventress. She is seen with her yellow lightsaber, marking her first appearance since season 6 of The Clone Wars, back in 2014. This created a retcon for Ventress’s death, which was depicted in the book Dark Disciple by Christie Golden, that fans eagerly await hearing more about. But even more so, Ventress’s appearance marks a celebration of the 21-year-long history of the Clone Wars as a concept within Star Wars.
Asajj Ventress Was Created In The FIRST Clone Wars TV Show
Genndy Tartakovsky’s 2003 Clone Wars Animated Series
Ventress is certainly prominent in the 2008 The Clone Wars series, but she was actually originally created for the Clone Wars Multimedia Project, and famously appeared in Star Wars‘s original Clone Wars 2D animated series. The 2003 series, directed by famed animator Genndy Tartakovsky, saw Ventress enter training under Count Dooku, and face off against Anakin Skywalker on the jungle moon Yavin 4. The two share a fantastically animated fight through the Sith temple ruins on the moon. Tartakovsky’s series was the original depiction of the Clone Wars, and directly inspired everything after it.
The Bad Batch Is Now Truly Honoring The Entire History Of Star Wars’ Clone Wars
Ventress’s Appearance Ties The Bad Batch Back To Its Animated Origins
By bringing back Ventress in this final season, The Bad Batch is effectively tying itself back to the original roots of the modern era of Star Wars animation. Asajj was a big part of the original Clone Wars series, and now makes an appearance in the series that is basically an epilogue to the Clone Wars era as a whole. 21 years later, Ventress’s return to the small-screen makes a lot of sense, as this era comes to an end with Asajj Ventress, just as it began.
Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars is no longer canon, but this serves as a reminder that his interpretation of the galactic conflict still has an abiding influence. The characters and concepts he established still exist in canon, and Ventress’ surprising return means his show is more relevant than ever. Star Wars: The Bad Batch is honoring the history of Star Wars in the best way.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch
Star Wars: The Bad Batch is an action-adventure animated series set after the events of The Clone Wars, following Clone Force 99 (a.k.a. the Bad Batch.) Finding themselves immune to the brainwashing effects of Order 66, the Bad Batch become mercenaries for hire while outrunning the empire, now seeing them as fugitives of the law.
- Release Date
- May 4, 2021
- Seasons
- 3
- Showrunner
- Dave Filoni
- Where To Watch
- Disney Plus
