‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’s Dee Bradley Baker on Crosshair’s ‘Heartbreaking’ Journey in Season 2 (Exclusive)

Star Wars: The Bad Batch ended its first season with the clone veterans facing an uncertain future. Season 2 of the Disney+ series picks up months after they narrowly escaped the watery grave of their cloning facility, leaving the elite troopers to examine their place in the galaxy post-Order 66. As Hunter points out in the trailer, they’re up to the task, because, “You know what makes us different? We make our own choices.”

Dee Bradley Baker, who voices each and every Bad Batch soldier, chatted with ET’s Ash Crossan about what fans can expect from the upcoming 16 episodes, which he’s ready to call “better than season 1.”

“[Season 2] has really interesting side roads that all feel very Star Wars,” Baker teases, adding that the new season’s ostensibly standalone adventures and story arcs will connect “into the larger structure of what’s playing out with Palpatine’s rise.” 

As promos revealed, the Emperor (Ian McDiarmid) appears in the new season. For now, it’s unclear how the Bad Batch crew will intersect with the galaxy’s newly installed dictator, who’s forced Hunter, Wrecker, Echo, and Tech to embark on an existential journey after the fall of the Republic. “It’s fascinating to see Palpatine’s iron grip starting to close,” Baker says. “And under that kind of stress, you find out who you are. They are finding out who they are and deciding how they’re going to play it.”

One character who’s certainly at a crossroads is Crosshair. And when asked if choosing a favorite character is comparable to picking a favorite child, Baker confirms, “Yes, it is,” but it looks like the Bad Batch’s baddest pulled ahead in the show’s sophomore outing.

“Last season, I would have said Wrecker, because I just love that he’s strong and he’s open and fun and he can eat whatever he wants and I can’t do that anymore,” Baker says with a laugh. “But this season, I think it might be Crosshair. This journey and what he goes through is really heartbreaking and he’s a tough diamond of a character, who I think is made even more clarified and sharper and more revealed in this season. It’s a really interesting story arc for who he is and what he’s going through.”