We love it when fan favorite characters pop up in other Star Wars properties, and now after Star Wars The Bad Batch Episode 9 we’ve learned new details about Cad Bane, Cid and more, straight from writer Jennifer Corbett and Director Brad Rau. On June 22, 2021, Richard and I attended a special Mid-Season Press Roundtable made up of Star Wars fan sites to discuss these behind-the-scenes details for The Bad Batch. We all received a screener of The Bad Batch Episode 9 “Bounty Lost” before the Roundtable, so be prepared as this article may contain spoilers. The Roundtable also included a delightful session with Ming-Na Wen, voice of Fennec Shand (check out the separate article).

Cad Bane

Cad Bane behind the scenes bad batch episode 9

First let’s discuss an intimidating, infamous Duros bounty hunter from Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Cad Bane. From a penchant for wide-brimmed hats to deadly quick draw shoot-out skills, Bane doesn’t care how deadly or disturbing a job is, as long as he gets paid. Dan Z (Coffee with Kenobi) asked about his inclusion into The Bad Batch. Jennifer Corbett (The Bad Batch, Forces of Destiny, Star Wars Resistance) explains why the writer’s room drew this character into the story. 

Jennifer Corbett: We knew we wanted to have the Bad Batch interact with Fennec Shand just to see how they end up because they’re still not fully street smart yet. While Fennec is new to the scene she’s still very dangerous. And to compare that interaction with, later on, the even bigger gun [Cad Bane]. This is a completely different experience for the Batch. Hunter got away last time [from Fennec], but no one’s going to outdraw Cad Bane. With each interaction, each experience they’re learning something new about other threats out there in the world and how that affects them moving forward.

Once Cad Bane was introduced in the scripts, the production team had to prepare him and his ship – both iconic designs in The Clone Wars – for The Bad Batch big screen. If you’ve seen episode 8 “Reunion” and even episode 9, you know that the team really leaned in to the whole Western theme, both in costume design and musical theme pertaining to Cad Bane. Director Brad Rau explains the process from page to screen.

Brad Rau: For the design of Cad Bane, we were looking at some designs that had never gone into production that were in progress in Clone Wars both for his look and his ship that you see. It was a lot of fun to sort of take them out of the garage and tinker with it and push it and rework it a little bit so that Cad Bane and his ride felt familiar and yet a little bit more nuanced and more detailed.

Cad Bane ship

As iconic as Cad Bane’s look is, perhaps more so is his voice. Little did I realize just how much a voice actor contributes to a role until Brad Rau shared his experience recording with famed voice actor Cory Burton (Disney’s Hercules, LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures, Dale and Scrooge McDuck, etc.).

Brad: Cory Burton is such an amazing, fantastic, decorated actor. We have such a blast working with him. Cory’s performance just informs all of the animation and a lot of the blocking. He’s phenomenal, he’s so great.

Cid

Cid

Cid is a Trandoshan cantina owner on Ord Mantell. Cid’s Parlor, her cantina, has become a refuge for The Bad Batch and Omega between the jobs that she gives them. Cid also has a surprising tie to Cheers – she is voiced by the incomparable Rhea Perlman! George Bate (Star Wars Holocron) asked about favorite characters, and Brad Rau responded immediately.

Brad: I love Cid. She gives everybody an equal amount of guff. And Rhea Perlman is such an outstanding actress. And once we started recording with her, it’s been fun seeing how her voice affected some of the future scripts. It’s just this awesome character and the kind of character that I love as a Star Wars fan. She’s a blast.

Bolo

One creature in Cid’s Parlor catches our eye every time he appears – Hammerhead! This Ithorian alien based on the classic Kenner figure is credited as “Bolo”, and Richard (Skywalking Through Neverland) wanted to know why this name was chosen. We got an unexpected answer.

Brad: That’s a great question. We love Bolo, voiced by the great Liam O’Brien. When he got to see the design for his character he said ‘Hammerhead! In the Kenner style!’ And we said ‘Yes! That’s what we were going for!’ That’s intentional.

Jennifer: It’s more about the dysfunctional friendship between Bolo and Ketch (a Weequay) that really spawned that name. They’re always getting into trouble and they’re fun characters to have in Sid’s place.

So we still don’t know why he is named “Bolo” – but if any of you can figure out what “Bolo” and “Ketch” mean together, please contact us!!

The Mandalorian vs. The Bad Batch

We can’t help but notice similarities in story points between The Mandalorian and The Bad Batch – reluctant “father” taking on a younger individual who is wanted for their genetic material. Teresa Delgado (Fangirls Going Rogue) and I wanted to know – was this a coincidence or was that intentional?

Brad: There are some similarities for sure that roll over. The idea of a “found family” especially with grizzled warriors having parenthood forced upon them and then learning how to deal with that for good and for bad is a classic storyline. When we were looking at The Bad Batch it made sense to go to that story really quickly. This was not intentional as a symmetrical nod to The Mandalorian, but more so to create an interesting point of view to get the audience into the series. Where you might not always identify as a super soldier, or as a clone, you will as a family, as a sister, as a big brother. It seemed like a natural way to get into the show.

The Bad Batch after Episode 9: Looking Ahead

Both Brad Rau and Jennifer Corbett have worked on Star Wars Resistance, and James Burns (Jedi News) wanted to know which Star Wars Resistance characters they would bring in to The Bad Batch if they could. Rau responded with an “answer” that invites speculation.

Brad: That might be too loaded of a question, actually!

Hmmm, let’s all put our thinking caps on… Which characters could appear after The Bad Batch Episode 9?

But the speculation doesn’t end there. William Devereaux (Ion Cannon) asked the creators to share two words to tease upcoming episodes of The Bad Batch season 1.

Jennifer: Hold On!

Brad: Buckle up! If you like where we’ve gone, you’re gonna really like where we’re going.

And with that, The Bad Batch Episode 9 “Bounty Lost” is streaming now on Disney+ – go watch! If you want more behind-the-scenes stories, check out the Press Roundtable with Ming-Na Wen, including video.