(The Bad Batch) Cinematic Version | A More Mature Edit (On Pause) — Page 3

Hey everyone, addressing a few of the last posts here and giving an update.

I’ve only completed ~50% of the new additions to Episode 0 so far. I am still in the process of moving into a new home and switching over my studio, and it was a slight fixer-upper so probably another 3-4 weeks until I have everything settled in and I’m no longer painting and replacing carpets every evening instead of editing…

Eddie, as always, incredible analysis! I haven’t even watched any of TBB Season 2 yet, so I’m a bit behind on connecting the dots between thematic elements of the seasons. Will definitely come back to your post when I get into that segment of the story.

So a bigger picture update on this project. To be honest, I’m struggling to have a genuine love and connection with the source material. Some of it is pretty decent, but I’m not emotionally invested here yet. Now that isn’t to say that I am cancelling this project, but progress here is naturally slower due to the fact that it sometimes feels more like a “chore” instead of a joy-inducing hobby. Maybe that connection will grow over time, but with the small amount of free time in my life right now it’s been tough to dedicate it this edit. With The Mandalorian S3 looming and my Way of Mandalore project getting a very neat makeover… Well, you get the picture. I do want to find the diamond in the rough with this show, and I will, just not according to to the timeline I originally planned. New house purchase, increased work responsibilties, and a lack of natural love for the content has caused delays.

No, this edit will not be 4k. This one will be 1080p only. I know some people love 4k and others hate it because it’s too hard to download with the increased file sizes. I know the perfect solution for all would be for me to make it both ways and host all options for people, but that’s a nightmare and a half. Personally I would do 4k, but I received a lot of feedback on my Way of Mandalore being 4k and it being too inaccessible for many downloaders.

Yoshi, that video is absolutely perfect haha.

Totally understandable buddy! Bad Batch in its current form, I think offers the least value of the SW shows (other than perhaps Resistance), so I think it’s right that it’s not a huge priority. I’m still working through the first season and will keep sharing ideas - but I’m starting to feel like it might be best served by a single condensed movie, just emphasising the Imperial transition and Crosshair’s betrayal of the crew.

Good to hear that Mando is more of a priority for you though!

I hope the house move goes very well!

I’m not promising an edit, but given what you’ve said, and based on the idea that the non-Clone stuff is probably the strongest in season one, I’m going to take more detailed notes on my rewatch - in particular timestamps and quality notes for each section of each episode (Clone or non-Clone). That little table could be useful for either of us.

That said, I’m also going to return to TCW:R shortly, to spend some time on the final polish for season 3 (the last remaining unpolished section of the core).

yoshif8tures said:

Okay so, so far out of season 2, you could make an arc out of episodes 2, 3, 7, 8, 10 and 12 so far, of which episode 12 is a must watch.
I don’t remember much of season 1 but I think you could make it a story about clones adjusting to life under the empire and take it off of the bad batch.
Focus more on Crosshair, since he is really the only interesting character in this show.

Thanks for the suggestions. I agree, it might be beneficial to keep my edit smaller in scale and only focus on that transitionary story rather than so much about TBB squad specifically.

Both this project and The Way of Mandalore sound amazing!
Sent you a message!

yoshif8tures said:

Okay so, so far out of season 2, you could make an arc out of episodes 2, 3, 7, 8, 10 and 12 so far, of which episode 12 is a must watch.

Totally agree with this. 7 could intercut with 1 & 2, and then lead into 8, which could conclude a movie if the season becomes two movies. 11 focuses on Nala Se and could fit in there too. 3 and 12 follow Crosshair’s journey, and might belong here. We’ll see where the rest of the season goes but it looks like this is a one-movie affair for now.

6, with Gungi, is OK, but a bit standalone. 5 and 13 feature Phee, which might become important later. And 9 and 10 might fill out the first of two movies, if trimmed, because they do have some good character work for Omega and Tech, plus they set up the Batch leaving Cid.

Season one could be two movies, but I’ll do the promised deeper research on it soon.

Hm, this is a bit tricky now. 14, 15, and 16 are vital. That adds up to a lot, but I don’t think the season wants to be stretched over two movies - I think punchy and tight is best here.

1 introduces Phee, which might be enough with just a little of 13 to get enough of Pabu in the story.

11 can probably be trimmed to just the Nala Se focus rather than getting into the Zillo Beast.

Ideally it would be this -

• Open with 1 & 2 (trimmed), intercut with 7
• Transition into 8, but minimise the impact of Echo leaving
• Overlap all of the above with Crosshair’s story from 3 and 12
• 14, 15, 16 to conclude
• Pepper the necessary Nala Se and Pabu scenes throughout to make the whole work.

But that makes 4 hours. On reflection, maybe that forces this into two movies.

Maybe instead it’s-

• 1, 2, 7, 8, with crosshair’s 3 and Nala Se’s 11.
• 12 (crosshair) and a little Pabu before 14, 15, 16. Maybe a bit more of 11 to give the Batch something relevant to do earlier.

Those would be a little under 2h each.

Looking back over season one, it’s either two longer movies or three shorter ones.

Working back to front, the last movie of the season is fairly clean - 11 and 12 (featuring Ryloth, Orn Free Taa, Hera and Cham Syndulla) can transition nicely into 14, 15, 16 (Gregor, Hunter’s capture, and the destruction of Kamino). 10 (Raxus) and 13 (Cid vs the Pykes) are skippable.

7, 8 and 9 (Rex, Scrappers, Cad Bane, Fennec Shand) are an important arc for more Omega characterisation and story, and I think could work as a closer to a movie. In 7, Rex has tracked the crew via the Martez sisters (seen in 6), but looking over the footage I think there’s an elegant way to switch that to Cut Lawquane, who it’s very reasonable he’s in contact with (as a former deserter only Rex knew of). That means we can skip 6.

Only a little of 5 is necessary - the Batch meet Cid, but then you can cleanly skip the majority and just have her give them the info on Fennec (if you’re keeping that content) or just maintain the intro otherwise and skip straight into Rex being there. Cid’s a former Jedi informant too, so we could even skip the Cut angle and go Echo’s info > Cid > Rex.

4 features Fennec hunting Echo, and has a bit of characterisation for both, but isn’t vital despite her appearance in 9. The Batch’s story from 3 is minor, but the Crosshair/Saw Gererra plot is important. Finally, 2 is nice but not vital, and 1 is necessary but long.

So, let’s put that (and the season two stuff) back together in order:

• (s01e01, 70m) Order 66 happens. The Batch meet Caleb Dume (Kanan), Omega, and Saw Gererra. The Batch desert. Crosshair remains with Tarkin. (Vital)
• (s01e02, 26m) The Batch meet Cut Lawquane and learn about inhibitor chips. Cut escapes, and Echo formally joins the Batch. (Important but possibly able to be minimised)
• (s01e03, ~12m) Tarkin and Rampart assign Crosshair to a unit of conscripts (Important).
• (s01e04, 21m) Fennec Shand hunts Echo. (Nice to have, but optionally skippable)
• (s01e05, ~5m) The Batch meet Cid (Vital).
• (s01e07-09, 71m) The Batch meet Rex at Cid’s (Vital). Rex sends the Batch to remove their chips. The Empire dispatch Crosshair, Cad Bane, and Fennec. Omega is captured but saved by the Batch. (All important)
• (s01e11-12, 48m) The Batch go to Ryloth and meet all that planet’s main characters. Crosshair hunts them. Howzer is introduced. (Important)
• (s01e14-16, 71m) Rex hires the Batch to rescue Gregor. Hunter is captured. Kaminoan politics. The Batch return to Kamino. Crosshair drama. Kamino is destroyed. (Vital)

The Batch’s character models change here.

• (s02e01-02, 43m) Phee is introduced (Probably important.) Cid sends the Batch to steal Dooku’s war chest. The Batch get a feel for a free life, and resent Cid (Important, probably thematically vital) Rampart and Tarkin drama (Interesting).
• (s02e03, 26m) Crosshair meets Cody. Crosshair’s doubts develop (Important), and Cody deserts (Interesting).
• (s02e07-08, 52m) Major focus on Coruscant politics. Chuchi hires Rex, who hires the Batch, to investigate the fall of Kamino. Echo leaves the Batch. (Vital, though Echo leaving could be downplayed)
• (s02e11, 26m) Focus on Kamino and cloning (Vital). Cid hires the Batch to fetch a Zillo Beast (Probably skippable).
• (s02e12, 27m) Crosshair realises the Empire won’t care for clones, kills an Imperial, and is imprisoned. (Vital)
• (s02e13, 24m) Disillusioned with Cid, The Batch travel with Phee to Pabu, and fight a tsunami. They are invited to stay. (Probably important for a few reasons)
• (s02e14-16, 73m) Howzer and other clones are rescued by Echo and Gregor. Chuchi questions them. Echo rejoins the Batch. Crosshair escapes enough to inform the Batch about the ASD. The Batch pursue the ASD lead to Tarkin. Saw Gererra and Cid are involved. Cloning remains in focus. (This one kept vague to avoid spoilers, but it’s Vital.

That would skip:

• (parts of s01e03, 23m) The Batch fix their ship on a moon (Skippable)
• (parts of s01e05, 24m) Cid hires the Batch to fetch a rancor in exchange for information on Shand (Skippable).
• (s01e06, 23m) Cid hires the Batch to fetch a Separatist tactical droid, and they meet the Martez Sisters (Skippable). Wrecker’s inhibitor chip activates a bit (Interesting, but not important).
• (s01e10, 24m) Cid hires the Batch to fetch a senator on the former Separatist capital (Skippable)
• (s01e13, 24m) Cid hires the Batch to fetch spice to earn her base back from the Pykes. (Skippable)
• (s02e04, 22m) Cid hires the Batch to win a race. The Batch start to doubt Cid. (Skippable, though it might be good to use that doubt in a movie for emphasis)
• (s02e05, 25m) Phee and Omega drag the Batch into the plot of Indiana Jones with a doomsday mech. Phee gets a major focus. (Fun but weird. Skippable)
• (s02e06, 25m) The Batch are hired(?) to rescue Gungi, the wookiee padawan. (Good, but skippable)
• (s02e09-10, 52m) The Batch’s ship is stolen on a mining planet. Omega is super sad about losing Echo. Drama with some kid. (Skippable, though it might be necessary to emphasise the loss of Echo in the main show.)

Basically, the vast majority of Cid’s fetch quests are skippable. One or two tie into the main plot (and are thus important to keep), which probably helps protect us against any future references to them doing work for her.

Having done this analysis, I think that season two splits neatly into two movies (1,2,3,7,8; and 12,13,14,15,6; with content from 11 in either). Season one I think ends neatly (11,12,14,15,16), but it’s just the start of season one I’m not sure about whether it should be one movie or two. I can’t quite see two clean blocks in there with proper movie structures that run to a sensible ending - though I do think most of that content listed above is pretty important. Maybe we just have to go (1,3,5,7,8,9) and do without Cut and Fennec’s focuses.

Thanks for all the ideas, everyone! I will be starting my Season 1 rewatch as soon as I finish up on Way of Mandalore and then get to editing this project soon. Probably looking at an early-mid summer release for me. I haven’t even started watching Season 2 yet… But it’s my top priority after Mandalorian.

I did see the Bad Batch Season 3 trailer and it looks promising. Darker, more focused, and I’m glad to see they’re wrapping it all up in a timely manner. I believe we will see Omega in live action at some point as well, so this content will become “essential” for the future of Star Wars shows as well. I’ll be working closely with The Clone Wars legend EddieDean throughout the entirety of production here, and coordinating scenes with his Refocused project to make sure you all can have a smooth and consistent watch through of both shows.

It seems like the most important elements of this show will indeed be the overall Republic–>Empire transition, as well as the character development of Omega rather than the actual Bad Batch themselves, so I’ll be keeping those themes in mind throughout my film creation.

I’ll be interested to see your analysis on top of ours here after you’ve watched it through.

Unlike TCW, I think this show suits movies over shorter episodes, as its ongoing story is quite tight, and it’s got a far larger focus on its core cast than on being an anthology. I think with all the guff cut out it could end up being pretty great.

And unlike the current Mandalorian, where it’s a bit more flexible, I think season two ends pretty conclusively and with a clear direction, so we don’t need to see how season three pans out before finalising decisions on editing season two.

Update on this! I’ve begun my Season 1 rewatch with the editors googles on. Got through the first 10 episodes and have to say, I’m actually enjoying it more than I did initially. Since I’m watching it trying to see the potential in the storyline, there’s definitely a legit possibility to present this content in a very digestible and entertaining format.

I’ll go more into detail over the coming weeks, but initially I 100% agree with Eddie that Season 1 is two films, with the first being 1,4,7,8,9 as the core narrative (with sprinkles of 5 & 3 to tie it together). Might pull a scene or two from 2 and borrow some of the travel shots, but I’m feeling good about this now. Really looking forward to watching season 2 for the first time too. Once I make these dialogue edits on wrecker, tighten up some of the kiddish nature, and do the ol acbagel frame by frame combat analysis I think we’re going to have a good time watching this together.

I’ve personally found The bad batch to be severely underrated. For season 2 just letting you know now, episodes 4, and 5 are essentially pure filler and quite low quality. Episode 6 is fun but also a bit filler but much better than the previous two episodes. Though besides that. I think most of the episodes are pretty solid and have some value to them.

Could I get a link to episode 0?