‘The Bad Batch’ producers explain the process of tying the series to the wider ‘Star Wars’ universe

Warning: Spoilers for season one of Star Wars: The Bad Batch to follow

The second round of The Bad Batch is right on our doorsteps, with the action-packed Star Wars: The Clone Wars spinoff/sequel set to begin its second season tomorrow, on Jan. 4. After a rocky reunion and subsequent, heartbreaking departure with Crosshair, the remainders of Clone Force 99 — joined by their plucky adoptee, Omega — look set to face a whole new slew of problems, especially with Nala Se’s newfound situation amongst Imperial forces.

Despite most of its value residing in its posse of colorful leads partaking in some laser-heavy shenanigans, The Bad Batch faces the same challenges that just about every Star Wars property does, namely in connecting its story and tone with a legendary shared universe, all without clashing with the events that we’ve already seen. And considering the series takes place at a pivotal point in the Star Wars canon, with Order 66 having just been executed as the Empire begins to come to life, it’s imperative that series creator Dave Filoni doesn’t miss a step in that department.

But while Filoni and his creative team are more than capable of doing their due diligence in treading the canon, they’ve also got the best safety net in the world for that department. In an interview with ComicBook.com, Bad Batch producers Brad Rau and Jennifer Corbett revealed just how involved the Star Wars family is when it comes to canon coordination.

“It’s a bit early into the era of the Empire that we’re far enough away from Obi-Wan and Andor. But that’s not to say that some of the storylines that we have don’t affect those shows. We really rely on, you know, the Lucasfilm Story Group, who is with us whenever we have story conferences, and they comment on storylines if some are veering into territory that could affect other things that are either in development or are currently being made, we’re made aware of that. It’s really more of a collaboration and just making sure that we’re telling the best stories without affecting other things coming up.”

But even though the most spinoffy of Star Wars spinoffs need to be treated with the utmost respect for the canon, that was never going to get in the way of Clone Force 99’s rousing escapades, and we’re all ready to see Omega and her four super-soldier dads rock the underbelly of the galaxy once again.

The first two episodes of season two of The Bad Batch will premiere on Disney Plus on Jan. 4, with new episodes releasing every Wednesday until the season’s conclusion on March 29. The first season is available to stream in full.