Smudger9's Bad Batch Movie Series [EP1 & EP2 RELEASED]

So I have been debating for a while whether to do a Movie series of the Bad Batch, similar to what I did for the Clone Wars back in the day. I originally didn’t want to get back into the animated shows with so much live action going on at the moment. However, a number of things have changed my mind.

They have made the characters far more engaging than the caricatures that appeared in the final season of The Clone Wars, with the addition of Omega who is a delight.
There is some terrific content in this show that fleshes out the Dark Times era.
The first 2 seasons can each be condensed into one 3-ish hour movie.
There is a core storyline that provides the spine of the show.
There are only going to be 3 seasons, so it opens things up for an epic movie trilogy.

Episode 1:

Running Time: 2h 49mins

Disney/Lucasfilm Animation logo with Fox Fanfare
Classic Star Wars Crawl
Pan down to planetary shot of Kaller

Aftermath
Rebuilt audio for opening battle shots to remove narration and music, scored with “Droids Approaching” from Clone Wars Series 7 Bad Batch arc.
Altered pitch of Caleb’s voice to better match his age.
Cut battle droid “Hold your positions……”
Cut slapstick battle droid tank pilot.
Cut cross fade to black at end of Kaller sequence. Replaced with Iris wipe.
Cut Wrecker/Tech/Echo conversation about returning home.
Cur Clearance code scene.
Remove wipe leading to Batch entering their Barracks.
Split first Tarkin scene and move his arrival to immediately after the Emperor’s Message.
Cut Omega reciting the Bad Batch’s names…. Caleb already did this in the opening sequence.
Remove wipe between Tarkin scene and Canteen scene.
Cut Wrecker’s groan and Omega “from the corridor” when Omega approaches the Batch in the canteen.
Cut Wrecker “I like this kid” - he already did this with Caleb.
Inserted a flashback scene between Echo being knocked out and waking up in the medical bay. The flashback is made from clips of the Bad Batch arc from the clone wars to show Echo’s resurrection backstory.
Wipe transition from medical bay to Tarkin discussing clones in the cloning facility (this scene has been move forwards) as I’ve cut the battle simulation scene. His closing remarks about seeing how loyal the Batch is provides a reason for him appearing at their Barracks.
Cut entire battle simulation scene.
Cut to a restructured Batch-Shocktrooper corridor scene discussing the Battle simulation: Cut references to the training facility and battle simulation. AI used to add in Hunter “we’re going to see the prime minister". Rebuilt background audio and extended score using “Battle Simulation”. The scene ends with the Batch being sent to suit up for a mission. Wipe to external shot of Kamino and cut to the Tarkin standing in the doorway at the Batch’s barracks.
Cut Hunter “didn’t have much choice” as it doesn’t make sense with the simulation removed.
Cut Wrecker talking about and loading explosives onto the ship.
Trim Batch approach to Onderon camp.
Small trims made to camp scene including some unnecessary dialogue.
Cut Batch walking back to their ship by using wipe transition.
Trim batch walking across Kamino platform and cut talk about “sticking to the plan”.
Cut Crosshair’s outburst at Hunter in the Cell.
Trim Omega-Crosshair interaction.
Edit escape sequence so that it only takes one punch from Wrecker to make a hole.
Cut accidental noise Omega makes in the shaft and Wrecker’s terrible cover-up attempt. Omega simply hits the vent and falls on top of the clones.
Remove wipe as the Batch enter the Hangar.
Cut Crosshair “You never could see the bigger picture”.
Cut chat between Hunter and Crosshair about disobeying orders.
Trim the silent Hunter-Crosshair standoff.
Trim Omega staring into space from the Cockpit.
Use AI voice creation to alter scene where the Batch talk about their next destination so that they head straight for Cid’s. Scene now plays out as “Set course for Ord Mantell”, “Cid’s place?”, “Echo knows a guy”.

Cut and Run/Replacements/Rampage
The Crosshair storyline from Replacements is used to give him a presence in the middle act, to keep the crucial Onderon scenes and provide spacer scenes for the Batch’s story.
Cut from the Batch entering hyperspace to Crosshair in the medical bay. Remove him telling AZ to go away and cut to Tarkin and Rampart talking about the new recruits.
Cut from Crosshair standing up to the Batch in hyperspace. Use the scene from Cut and Run of Omega and Wrecker sleeping whilst Hunter and Echo discuss Omega. Audio rebuilt and scored with raising kids to give better music transition.
Cut to Replacements scene where Crosshair is introduced to his new squad.
Cut to Replacements scene of Hunter handing out rations to Omega and Wrecker. Move Omega sitting down with her food to the end of the scene to provide a better shot to transition from.
Cut to Replacements scene where Tarkin and Rampart decide to send the new squad to Onderon.
Cut to Rampage scene of the Batch in hyperspace and where Omega is given her com link. Cut chat about why the Batch are going to Ord Mantel.
Use Rampage sequence of Batch arriving on Ord Mantell and entering Cid’s, with addition of 2 shots from Battle Scars of a hooded Rex sitting in the background. The second shot is used as a spacer between the long headshot of Cid and the Batch entering her office.

Battle Scars/Replacements
The Edit is constructed so that the Scenes in Cid’s from Rampage and Battle Scars merge into one with the Batch entering looking for Cid and finding Rex.
Rex being approached by the Ithorian provides a spacer scene between the Cid’s office scene from Rampage and Cid’s office scene from Battle scars. References to the tactical droid mission are removed. Shots edited so that you don’t notice that Omega and Wrecker are missing from Cid’s office in Battle scars.
As the Batch run into the Bar to find the source of the blaster fire, a clip of Omega and Wrecker running up the stairs is added to explain their absence from Rex’s introduction scene with addition of Wrecker shouting “Hey” isolated from Clone Wars arc.
Reference to Trace and Rafa removed.
AI used to alter Rex’s dialogue to “I thought I’d find you here” and “it looks like you’re travelling with a kid"
As Rex says “I’ll be in touch” we cut to the Replacements scene of the Clone Squad approaching Onderon. The Onderon sequence is edited into a single scene.
Cut trooper “for now, we’ll see how things shake out”.
Remove gap between Onderon rebel saying “alert the others” to the Clone squad firing.
Cut to the batch approaching Bracca
Trim approach to the landing point.
Trim Batch walking across the wreckage.
Cut creature attack
Trim sequence where an activated Wrecker is hunting for Omega.
When Rex stuns Wrecker wipe transition to Replacements scene of Clone squad returning to Kamino. Cut straight to Crosshair’s squad returning to their Barracks. Cut from wide shot of Crosshair to Rex and the Batch on the cruiser.
Trim end of the scene so it ends on Omega, not Wrecker.
Wipe transition to Replacements scene of Kaminoans talking about a contingency plan.
Cut back to Rex and the Batch on the cruiser.
Cut Omega “he’s awake”
Cut Omega giving Wrecker the Mantell mix and talking about tradition.

Reunion
Cut from the Scrappers discovering the Batch to Crosshair reporting their discovery to Rampart. - there is just a 5 minute gap between the last Crosshair scene from Replacements to this scene, so Crosshair’s presence throughout this edit is maintained with no significant gaps.
Remove Wrecker teaching Omega how to disarm explosives.
Remove the Scrapper Battle and references to the scrappers thereafter.
The Edit cuts from the Crosshair/Rampart scene to a wide shot of Bracca with Echo “Rex told us about the scrappers on Bracca”, thus removing the Batch handling the scrapper bodies.
Cut to the Batch discussing plundering the ship.
Cut Echo referencing the Dianoga.
Cut reference to owing Cid.
Remove the entire Batch/Crosshair confrontation. The batch now head straight for the Ion Chamber.
The 3 scenes of the Batch walking though the chamber are edited together into a continuous sequence. Omega talking about not being in an ion engine before is cut.
Cut Wrecker talking about plan 7.
Cut Crosshair “I told you before” - the “before has been cut”
Cut Omega “he’s a bounty hunter” and Bane “kid’s got it all figured out”.
Trim Hunter/Bane standoff.
Cut Todo disarming Omega.
Cut black screen preceding hunter POV shot.

Bounty Lost
Cut from Hunter telling the Batch that Omega was taken by a bounty hunter to Bane’s ship in hyperspace and then Bane reporting to the Kaminoans.
The chase scene between the Batch and the Empire on Bracca has been removed.
Cut Lama Su “abandoned” when talking about the secret facility. - not knowing its abandoned creates more tension.
Cut to Omega in the cell. Todo is edited out so that she just interacts with Bane.
Cut to the Batch discussing how to find Omega. References to the Bounty hunter on Pantora are cut.
The entire Omega escape sequence has been removed.
The next scene is Bane arriving at the facility. The ship approach shots are edited together. We don’t see the ship land in the series so this is masked by inserting a shot of Omega waking up in her cell with ship landing effects added. The scene ends with Bane exiting the cockpit.
Cut to next scene of the Batch in space. Omega’s distress call is removed to create a short scene to show that they are still looking for her. This acts as a spacer scene, allowing time for Bane to get Omega off his ship and onto the facility.
Cut to Bane pulling Omega through the facility.
Cut Fennec “Omega and I go way back”.
Edit Omega’s call for help by inserting the Batch receiving Omega’s initial transmission (which had been cut). Weird Creatures track used to provide continuity for the score.
Cut Todo talking to Bane about recovering the target.
Cut Omega mentioning Pantora.
Trim Omega descending the ladders.
Cut Todo attacking and pursuing Omega.
Cut Bane flopping back onto the facility platform.
Trim Omega escaping in the pod to tighten the pacing. Use track “Target is getting away” to smooth the score between cut scenes.
Move scenes around so that The Shand-Lamau Su scene is the last scene from this episode to provide a bridge between Batch scenes from Bounty Lost and War Mantle.
Alter Shand dialogue to remove reference to Pantora. Use dialogue from Ep4 Cornered “The target got away, but I’ll find her”.

War Mantle
As far as the edit is concerned this episode is an unnecessary detour and functions solely for Hunter’s capture so it has been stripped back to a minimum.
Gregor’s capture has been removed.
Cut references to a mission for Cid and getting paid.
Trim journey up the mountain.
Cut the Batch talking about abandoning the mission.
Cut Omega and Wrecker playing a board game.
Cut Hunter explaining that Wrecker and Omega are their backup.
Cut Gregor “insubordinate pleb”
Trim batch and Gregor creeping around the base.
Cut Batch going up in the lift.
Cut Gregor talking about desertion.
Cut Gonky to the rescue.
Cut Hunter-Crosshair scene - the scene in Return to Kamino is enough.

Return to Kamino
Wipe transition from Lama Su being reprimanded to Crosshair’s shuttle in hyperspace.
Cut Rampart’s reference to Ryloth.
Trim Batch’s journey on underwater tube system.
Cut Crosshair telling his squad to stand down.
Cut “a long time ago” when Crosshair is talking about having his chip removed.

Kamino Lost
Sequence where Crosshair and Omega are trapped is removed. Accomplished by cutting 2 separate scenes of the Batch falling through the wreckage into one sequence. Clone confirming to rampart that the cities have been destroyed is moved to the end of that sequence.
Underwater creature attack sequence is removed.
Change Hunter line to Crosshair “she saved your life ”to she’s a clone like us” - the sequence where Omega saves Crosshair has been removed.
Imperial base scene moved to sit between the night shot of the Batch in the water and the daytime shot - provides a spacer sequence and allows the movie to end on the Batch.
Iris out to end credits and Star Wars theme.

Episode 2 (Running Time 2h 37mins)

Act 1 (62 mins)

• Lucasfilm Logos
• Star Wars Opening crawl & pan down to oceanic planet.
• EP1: Opening scene with the Batch on a mission for Cid. Score altered so the big base notes start as soon as the Batch appear from the trees. Cut Omega jumping off the
  Marauder, she remains dangling from the line. End of the sequence re-scored using “More then Jewels” and “Revolt”.
• EP7: Opening senate scene discussing the defence recruitment bill. Some unnecessary exposition from Bail Organa has been cut.
• EP7: Wipe transition to Cade and Slip in the bar discussing the destruction of Kamino. Trimmed their walk outside. Cade is shot and Slip escapes.
• EP1: Wipe Transition to Marauder in hyperspace. Echo talks to Hunter about doing more to help clones. Cut reference to Dooku’s fortune. This scene is included to set up
  Echo separating from the Batch at the end of act 1.
• EP7: Transition wipe to external shot of Senate. Rampart and Mas Amedda discuss the events on Kamino. Senator Chucci offers to help the clones and meets Slip.
• EP1: Transition wipe to external shot of Old Mantell from EP4. The Batch return to Cid’s bar with the haul. The Batch meet Phee. The mission to scavenge Dooku’s fortune
  is discussed but Hunter doesn’t agree to the mission. The remainder of the episode is cut.
• EP7: Transition wipe to Chucci discussing her demands for the clones with Rampart. Chucci receives a secure communication.
• EP7: Clip of Slip on the run - this scene originally occurred earlier, but it has been moved to coincide with Chucci & Rampart searching for him.
• EP7: Chucci meets with Organa and she discusses her clone contact with information about the destruction of Kamino. Wide shot at end of the scene is cut to speed up
  the pacing.
• EP7: Rampart Orders the Operative to attack.
• EP7: Chucci & guards v Assassin. Rex stuns the operative. Edited so that Rex only fires once.
• EP5: Transition wipe to Wrecker and Omega trawling through a scrap yard. The Batch are at Cid’s listening to Phee. Cut Echo “this story changes every time she tells it”.
  Omega and Wrecker arrive. Phee notices the treasure map. Cut Omega “co-ordinate markings”. The Batch agree to join Phee on a treasure hunt. AI line inserted for Phee
  telling the Batch to wait for her to contact them - This connects with their next scene where they’re waiting aboard the marauder when Echo contacts them, and also sets
  up the opening of the Pabu episode in act 2.
• EP7: Rex Interrogates the operative.
• EP8: Wipe to Old Mantell with The Batch waiting aboard the Marauder. Cut Omega’s references to Gungi. Echo contacts the Batch asking for help. Change Wrecker “I’m
  tired of waiting around for Cid” to “I’m tired of waiting around for Phee”. The Batch agree to go to Coruscant.
• EP3: Wipe to Crosshair being awoken by an alarm. He is summoned to Ramparts office and given a mission. Rampart AI dialogue used to change the mission from Dessex
  to Barton IV. Mission specifics have been cut.
• EP8: The Batch arrive on Coruscant. Coruscant approach trimmed. Cut Omega’s “Hello”.
• EP12: Crosshair meets his mission commander and they depart Coruscant.
• EP8: Cut to Cucchi discussing her plan with Organa. Cut Omega “very” and “who’s that”. Omega’s entire visit to the senate has been removed along with the scene in
  Burtoni’s apartment.
• EP8: The Batch retrieve the data from the Venator - the shipyard infiltration sequence has been edited to shorten it and the V-wing sequence has been cut out.
• EP8: The Batch get the data to the senate and Rampart is exposed. The emperor appears and introduces the stormtrooper program.
• EP11: Hemlock arrives on Tantiss. The assets are implied to refer to clone troopers rather than the Zillos. Hemlock threatens Taun We in her cell. This scene is placed here
  to continue the clone storyline. Hemlock is immediately introduced as the new antagonist as Rampart is removed.
• EP8: Echo and the Batch go their separate ways.

Act 2: (55 mins)

• EP12: Crosshair’s shuttle exits hyperspace. They land on Barton IV and meet the clones troopers stationed at the base. Cut some of Lieutenant Nolan “where is your supervisor” and “where you let the majority of your squad get killed”. Cut Crosshair/Mayday interaction about the Lieutenant. Insurgents attack the base. Crosshair and Mayday pursue them into the caves.
• EP13: The Batch and Phee negotiate over the artefact. They grab it and escape.
• EP12: Crosshair and Mayday continue their pursuit of the insurgents. The pressure mine sequence has been cut.
• EP13: Batch and Phee in hyperspace. Cid contacts them due to their absence. Cut Phee’s references to cutting ties with Cid (they turn up at Cid’s in act 3) but keep the
  rest of the scene.
• Crosshairs & Mayday discover the insurgent base and attack. They cause an avalanche and are buried. Crosshair emerges and rescues Mayday. Scene scored using “Arc
  Troopers” to provide more emotional weight and a better transition to the next scene.
• EP11: Lama Su arrives on Tantiss.
• EP12: Crossshair hauls Mayday slowly back to the base. Nolan refuses to help Mayday. Crosshair kills Nolan.
• EP13: The batch arrive on Pabu. Cut Wrecker “you’ve got some competition”. The Phee-Echo romance has been largely removed in the edit.
• EP12: Crosshair wakes up in a cell on Tantiss.
• EP13: The Batch are given a tour of Pabu by Phee.
• EP14: Clone troopers are ushered aboard a transport. The transport enters orbit and is attacked by Echo & crew who disable it and rescue the clones before escaping.
  The ship docking sequence has been slightly shortened.
• EP13: The Batch Enjoy dinner on Pabu. Omega views the sunset from a boat. Cut Echo “I am not seeing anything”. The Tsunami sequence and aftermath have been cut.
• EP14: Echo delivers the clones to Chucci on Coruscant. Echo departs to contact the Batch about the data he collected from the Imperial ship.
• EP14: Hemlock Interrogates Crosshair. The subsequent Crosshairs escape sequence has been cut - it adds nothing to the plot and makes Tantiss seem less secure.
• EP14: Cut to the Batch on Echo Arrives on Pabu. Cut mention of the Batch becoming an integral part of the community. Part of Omega’s flying lesson is cut.
• EP14: Tarkin and Hemlock discuss the attack on the Imperial shuttle and the Summit.
• EP14: The Batch decrypt the Imperial data. Cut mention of Crosshair’s warning signal - since he doesn’t escape in this edit, he can’t send a warning signal.
• EP14: Hemlock again interrogates Crosshair. Mention of his escape have been cut.
• EP15: Echo finds out about the summit and the Batch prepare to leave Pabu. The saying goodbye to Phee scene has been cut.

Act 3: (40mins)

• The Remainder of EP15 and all of EP16 play out with minor trimming to speed up the pacing and remove the some unnecessary dialogue.

Here are a few clips to share:

First is the opening scene with the crawl, rebuilt audio from the opening shots and adjusted Celeb audio:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6zSztZp6MA

Second up shows how the Kamino training sequence has been removed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3lfiz1RKOc

The third shows the transition of scenes between Aftermath and Replacements and shows the use of AI to alter the Batch dialogue so that they head straight for Cid’s Bar on Ord Mantel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNcKfVhdznM

Finally the sequence combining the Batch meeting Cid and Rex in the same scene
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKgWjWSUC-k

Looks very interesting! Excited to see the full release of the project when it’s completed!

Sounds like good fun! Looks like you’re not including any content from 11/12 (the Ryloth two-parter) - are you skipping the character of Howzer then? And cutting having Rampart assign Crosshair to hunt the Batch down (as seen in the finale)?

EddieDean said:

Sounds like good fun! Looks like you’re not including any content from 11/12 (the Ryloth two-parter) - are you skipping the character of Howzer then? And cutting having Rampart assign Crosshair to hunt the Batch down (as seen in the finale)?

No Ryloth footage at all, so Howzer and the Crosshair/Rampart scene has been cut.

The absence of that scene isn’t really an issue. We already know that Crosshair is hunting down the batch from the Bracca confrontation, and actually him appearing suddenly on the shuttle transporting Hunter works very well.

That’s fair! Are you sold on the one movie per season approach? It feels like there’s a natural breakpoint at S01E09, and again at S02E08, if you needed to conclude movies there. That might give you four movies of around ~1h40-2h and capture some of the content that’s relevant to other media (such as Cham Syndulla on Ryloth for TCW and Rebels). I put some analysis on this idea in Acbagel’s Bad Batch thread if you’re interested. You do you though - the show will certainly do well from tightening either way!

EddieDean said:

That’s fair! Are you sold on the one movie per season approach? It feels like there’s a natural breakpoint at S01E09, and again at S02E08, if you needed to conclude movies there. That might give you four movies of around ~1h40-2h and capture some of the content that’s relevant to other media (such as Cham Syndulla on Ryloth for TCW and Rebels). I put some analysis on this idea in Acbagel’s Bad Batch thread if you’re interested. You do you though - the show will certainly do well from tightening either way!

Yeah, I’m sticking to one movie person season. 2h50 is pushing it, but its in line with my other edit lengths. I agree that the seasons split in half quite well, however, I don’t feel there is enough quality material in each half to warrant a separate movie. Ryloth, for example, adds very little other than familiar character cameos.
The first half of season 2 was pretty weak, so I can pretty much eliminate all of it other than Crosshair’s introduction. That will allow me to focus on the clone storyline from the second half.

That’s fair! As you say, Ryloth is connective but not relevant to the core plot for the Batch. There might be elements from season two which come up later in season three, but it seems like a solid plan.

Not quite ready. It’s 99% done but I’m going to finish my Ahsoka edit first!

Season 1 has some great content and lore. Annoyingly it’s so close to making a perfect movie, the detour to rescue Gregor just details it slightly and because Hunger gets captured it can’t be cut.

It’s still pretty tight, just about 15mins too long. This edit is 99% done. As soon as Ahsoka is finished I’ll get it finished.

Finally got back to this to finish off the final 1%. I did a bit more trimming so the final runtime is 2h 48mins, which I’m pleased with considering it’s an edit of the whole season.

It’s currently rendering so it will be available tomorrow.

I would love to see this as the Bad Batch is pretty good 😃

Would also love a link when its completed!

All rendered and uploaded. I’ve sent a link to those that have requested it. If anyone else is interested shoot me a PM.

honestabe said:

I watched through this edit. I expected it to be very good as I skimmed through the changelog. The effort level was clearly there. Personally, I watched this specifically looking for a movie that connects the dots with the rest of the Star Wars universe. I was not specifically interested in a story about the Bad Batch. The only Bad Batch content that I watched previously were the opening scene involving Caleb/Kanan and the Ryloth saga to connect with Rebels. (Leaving out the Ryloth portion was the correct decision as it was too far off to be a necessary inclusion, but for those interested I recommend watching Rebels Recut by g00b).

This edit far and above exceeded my expectations. I really believed I watched a highly entertaining, emotionally compelling, and strong character-driven story.

I was very skeptical of the Bad Batch characters as they were portrayed briefly in the Clone Wars. Therefore, leaving the Clone Wars bit out was clearly the correct decision. To my own surprise, I found myself loving all of the characters. They came across wonderfully, warts and all other shenanigans. The edit really put in strong character development.

Considering I have not watched most of the material beforehand, I felt the story flowed very smoothly. Not once did I scratch my head and wonder what was going on despite all the cuts, transitions, and rearranged material. The story really flowed smoothly. From the opening crawl all the way to the ending, I was engaged the whole way through - I never found myself even a bit bored. This was an action-packed, fast paced movie that goes by quickly in spite of the nearly 3 hour length.

The edit without question gave me what I wanted going in. That is, I wanted to see the story of the transition from the clones to professional recruits, and I was not disappointed in the slightest in that regard. I also liked the bit involving the bounty hunters who were recruited by the Kaminoans with competing visions.

The only issue I have, and this is not something an edit can fix, is the whole concept of the inhibitor chip. I was never a big fan of it. I would have always preferred more of the concept of free will, which is why I really loved Crosshair removing the inhibitor chip and choosing to be evil voluntarily, including the massacre of innocent civilians. This is very dark, but it humanizes the clones.

Overall, this is an A+ edit and I think it can enjoyed by people who are not Star Wars fans who simply want a good story. I highly recommend everybody in this forum to take a crack at this one.

Wow, thanks for the amazing review honstable. The most useful feedback is from people watching the material for the first time. When i’m editing a series together I get to know the story so well that it’s easy to lose sight of what is needed for the plot to make sense. Your desires aligned perfectly with my aims for this edit. To stick to the core plot that connects with the rest of the Star Wars universe. There is some amazing content in the Bad Batch that helps bridge the PT-OT gap, but also a lot of boring and repetitive episodes.

Overall my TV edits are intended to be an engaging summary of the main plot presented in the form of a Star Wars movie that has rewatchability (just like the movies) and also allows casual fans to enjoy the series without having to sit through the whole show.

I’m currently storyboarding season 2. It’s even more unbalanced than season 1. Some amazing and emotional episodes mixed with some really monotonous episodes. It’s shaping up to be another really good movie!

Hey, could I please have a link? This sounds fantastic, love your edits