Bad Batch theory answers The Mandalorian’s biggest Baby Yoda mystery
How did Grogu survive the Jedi purge? Look no further than The Bad Batch.
There’s still a lot about Baby Yoda’s backstory we don’t know. The Mandalorian Season 2 revealed some long-awaited details about the character’s origins (including that his real name), but there’s plenty from Grogu's past that remains a mystery. One of the biggest questions that The Mandalorian has yet to answer is this: who saved Baby Yoda from Order 66?
One new theory suggests an upcoming Star Wars series will provide the answer to that question — and if true, it's possible we may have already met Baby Yoda’s mysterious rescuers elsewhere in the Star Wars canon, thanks to The Clone Wars.
Enter: The Bad Batch.
The Theory — On Reddit, one Star Wars fan theorizes that the Bad Batch (an elite squad of troopers also known as Clone Force 99) were the ones who saved Baby Yoda and helped him get out of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant alive. The theory suggests that the group’s clone inhibitor chips malfunctioned during Order 66, allowing them to disobey Palpatine’s orders and spare Grogu.
The Redditor even goes on to speculate that Disney+’s upcoming Bad Batch animated series, which takes place after The Clone Wars, will show the titular group of clones rescuing Grogu and shepherding him to safety.
Who saved Baby Yoda?
The Bad Batch was a commando squad formed during the Clone Wars consisting of clones with unique genetic mutations. The group was introduced during the opening arc of The Clone Wars’ final season last year and is set to return in Star Wars: The Bad Batch, premiering at some point in 2021. Few details have been released from the series, but it is said to follow the group during the post-Clone Wars era of the Galaxy as they take on “daring mercenary missions” and work to find a new purpose for themselves after the war.
The brief sizzle reel that was released for The Bad Batch a few months ago didn't reveal any new plot points from the series but chose to focus more on promoting the animated show’s impressive action sequences. Given the unorthodox nature of the Bad Batch clones though, it’s possible they reacted differently to Order 66 than the rest of the clones. Assuming that was the case, it’s not out of the realm of possibility for them to be the ones who saved Grogu on Coruscant.
Not only would this idea of rescuing everyone's favorite new Force-user work within the established Star Wars canon, but it would also help make The Bad Batch feel like a vital new addition to the universe, and potentially set these characters up for a live-action role in The Mandalorian Season 3.
The Bad Batch.
The Inverse Analysis — The Mandalorian season 2 finale ended with Grogu parting ways with Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin in order to train with Luke Skywalker. The ending signaled a possible change in direction for The Mandalorian season 3 — one where the series focuses less on Grogu and Din’s relationship. Despite that, fans are still holding onto hope that The Mandalorian will answer their remaining Baby Yoda questions.
However, it’s entirely possible that those Baby Yoda questions won’t be answered in The Mandalorian but in another upcoming Star Wars project — and this theory makes a compelling case for The Bad Batch as the next stop on Grogu's galactic tour.
In fact, while very little is known about The Bad Batch right now, it has been confirmed that Ming-Na Wen’s Fennec Shand — a character Mandalorian fans are already very familiar with — will be appearing in the series. If this Grogu theory proves to be accurate, Fennec Shand may not be The Bad Batch’s only connection to The Mandalorian.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch is coming soon to Disney+.
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