The Bad Batch: Michelle Ang and Dee Bradley Baker Explain the Process Behind Channeling Omega and the Clones in New Interviews

SWNN Probe · Jan 5, 2023

The cast and crew behind The Bad Batch season 2 are currently doing the press rounds, and discussing how season 2 was conceived and recorded. You can check out a compilation of some of the highlights from interviews with head writer and executive producer, Jennifer Corbett, and supervising director and executive producer, Brad Rau, here. What follows is a similar compilation from interviews with Michelle Ang, who voices Omega, and Dee Bradley Baker, who voices all the clones in the show. Make sure to click on each link if you are interested in reading or listening to each full conversation.

<h2>Michelle Ang explains Omega's journey between seasons</h2>
Speaking to ComicBook.com, Michelle Ang explained Omega's evolution from season 1 into season 2, saying:

'There's a time jump between Season 1 left off and where season two begins, and Omega's shed off some of her childlike wonder. We're moving a little bit into adolescence. We're moving into a space where Omega wants to have her views heard, wants to have a voice, and I think what's interesting is she's very much secure in her place in the Bad Batch. Season 1 meant that sometimes she wasn't sure if she was allowed to be considered as part of the squad but I think in Season 2, right from the jump, you get the impression, you see that Omega is very comfortable and the Batch absolutely value her and she has her own merits and her own skills that she adds to the squad.'
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Omega in a scene from 'STAR WARS: THE BAD BATCH', season 2 exclusively on Disney+. © 2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.

It is interesting that she mentions the time gap between both seasons, which from her words and from what we saw at the beginning of the show seems like it was significant. However, Jennifer Corbett told The Direct that there are two months between both seasons (in another interview that Ang did with Daily Motion, linked below, she revealed that to her, six months had passed). This is definitely even more surprising when you consider Ang's response to ComicBook.com about possibly playing Omega as an adult:

'The true answer is absolutely I would love to go on that journey of Omega but I would also have to say that I don't want her to grow up too fast. Season 1 to 2 was a big jump, it was a good jump, but the journey that she is on as an adolescent and as a dawning identity of who she is, but also who clowns are how the Bad Batch and her brothers fit into how the Empire and the world view clones, I don't want to rush that. I think that's incredibly juicy and exciting. Maybe this is a bit fatalistic of me; I think as everyone grows into adulthood, there's a certain element of jadedness and I think Omega's superpower, at least at this point, is the fact that she isn't, so she has really novel ways to view quite adult themes and that's been a joy. I think that's a nice voice for Omega currently, and the Star Wars world, so I wouldn't want her to lose that too fast.'
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Talking to Collider, she expanded on this by explaining how her arc is getting more complicated as she grows up:

'She's got really strong ideas of what family should feel like and look like and how they should sort of be. And I think the realities of being in this particular world and this particular universe means that sometimes that can't play out as to how she as a young adolescent wants that to be. So, she has to deal with a more complicated ... I guess she's realizing that the way her idealism comes up against challenges and she has to really figure out how to work through that.'
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In her interview with Daily Motion, Ang explained how being from New Zealand helped her channel the voice of Omega:

'When she feels like something is wrong, just the way that she delivers it, as matter-of-fact, and also sometimes I think the New Zealand-ness of being quite, like, weirdly casual... I always thought that New Zealand has this extremely casual way of talking about big things... And it works well in a sense with Omega's age, so quite often my offers in the record [are] inspired by the kiwi casualness, and I think that lends quite a specificity to Omega as a character.'
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<h2>Dee Bradley Baker on his process reading as the Bad Batch</h2>
Dee Bradley Baker broke down in his chat with ComicBook.com what his favorite episodes from the season were, referencing one that has been dubbed as the 'pod-racing episode', since it involves street car races reminiscent of the iconic scene from The Phantom Menace. He said:

'Right out of the gate, I just, I love the pod-race episode Tech. I thought that was really fun and it's like, I know this guy and I like this guy a lot more now because he's able to jump in there and do something that you wouldn't really think he'd do, but how fun. It was just fun.

And on the other side of it, I think for me the most meaningful and affecting was the outpost episode with Crosshair to see how he's taken to the limits of his extreme in a heartbreaking way. But that plays out as this very personal climb to a revelation, to a moment, to a break, and to bring his character, who is typically tough, and kind of grumpy, and not saying very much to this state of transformation, or revelation, for me, it's like, wow, I think I actually like him the best now. He's the most compelling and interesting character of all of them. And I love them all very much, but to bring that out in Crosshair, I think fans are really gonna go nuts for it. It's really a fascinating journey that he's on.'
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Speaking to Collider, he also explained the main themes season 2 will explore, saying:

'The key thesis of the season to me is that the Empire is growing bigger and there's nowhere to run or hide. And that plays out for Omega as it does for the Bad Batch, as it does for Crosshair. And so these are the larger realities of the Star Wars cannon that are locking into place and coming into play, and it's spectacularly great Star Wars as far as I'm concerned. I just love it.'
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(L-R): Echo, Omega, Wrecker, Hunter, and Tech in a scene from 'STAR WARS: THE BAD BATCH', season 2 exclusively on Disney+. © 2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.

In his interview with The Film Collective, Dee Bradley Baker explained his recording process, saying he reads the scene from top to bottom, changing from character to character on the spot:

'We read straight through the script. That is scene by scene, but I'll read straight through it, jumping from character to character. If I need to, like if it's a pre-existing clone that I don't remember, like Rex I remember, but even if it's like Cody or someone that I haven't portrayed for quite a while, they'll play me that reference just so I get a lock on what it is about that guy that makes him who he is. Because I wanna keep them all separate but I also wanna keep them consistent with what we've done before. Once I've got that locked down, then we can just read through the scene and then we go back and generally do three readthroughs of the scene, with maybe some spot checks on individual lines, and then we move on to the next scene.'
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In fact, when talking to Daily Motion, he explained his trick to pull this off:

'Well, the trick that I use is that if Wrecker is gonna be yelling, I do that at the end of the session, that's my trick! (Laughs.) Other than that, I can pretty much go through the script and it's usually not too damaging. If we have a lot of yelling and screaming and that kind of stuff, we may save a few of those lines for the end of the session so that I still have enough gas in the tank vocally to get us all the way through the mission without too much hobbling around. But that's basically it. I'm old enough and experienced enough to know how not to damage my voice, what not to do. Earlier in my career I don't think I would have known that, but now [I know that] part of the art of doing something well is also avoiding things that work against you.'
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(L-R): Echo, Captain Rex, Omega, Wrecker, Hunter, and, Tech in a scene from 'STAR WARS: THE BAD BATCH', season 2 exclusively on Disney+. © 2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.

He also weighed in on the character progression that Rex must undergo between the character we last saw in The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch season 1, and the character we later meet in Star Wars: Rebels. He said the following:

'Well, Rex has kind of been through it all, hasn't he? And he is a warrior, a good person, he's persistent and he sees the power and value of his experience and what he knows and his capacity. And so he's an important, sort of leading North Star bellwether of how the clones perceive the larger political powers that are playing out. Because the question is, as a solider you're part of the armed forces and you have respect, and you have power, and you have status, hopefully. But as it shifts, and you have new management on top, that changes completely and he's one uniquely placed to see this. And his choice is to double down and to go back in, and to fight the good fight. And so he's seen much more of this and understand more of this than the Bad Batch, who are sort of unique and off to the side doing their own thing, but they're gradually waking up to the reality that's playing out, that you can't just play this game in a short-sighted or selfish way, or even just to get along or just to hide. Because there's nowhere to hide, because it will find you.'
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We know from the trailer that Rex is in the second season, but we have yet to meet with him. New episodes of The Bad Batch come out every Wednesday, and you can check out our non-spoiler thoughts on the first 14 (out of 16) here. We have also a spoiler discussion on the already-released first two episodes that you can check out here.

Stay tuned for more on The Bad Batch coming soon! Meanwhile, here's a new spot released on social media shortly after the first two episodes came out:

https://twitter.com/TheBadBatch/status/1610707250615832577

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The Bad Batch: Michelle Ang and Dee Bradley Baker Explain the Process Behind Channeling Omega and the Clones in New Interviews

SWNN Probe Seeker

The Bad Batch: Michelle Ang Shares Her Reaction To Reading the Finales Scripts for the First Time

Michelle Ang on Joining Star Wars and Omegas Growth in Season 2 of The Bad Batch

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Review: The Bad Batch Episode 13 - Into The Breach Sees Echo Return in Solid But Forgettable Installment

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