"It’s a Dream Come True": Brad Rau’s Road to Star Wars: The Bad Batch

While the series ties in deeply with the events of the Star Wars prequels and The Clone Wars, The Bad Batch isn’t only for superfans. On the contrary, its story of a team of renegades is designed to have broader appeal. “We want it to be something that anybody can enjoy and watch,” Rau says. “I think it’s really smart, going back to when Dave and Jen [Corbett, head writer,] were conceiving of the show, right from the get-go. Even though these are characters we’ve seen, the Bad Batch, they are pretty new characters. So if you’re someone who’s like, ‘Oh, I haven’t seen Clone Wars,” we feel like you could start with our show and not feel left out at all.” 

When StarWars.com brings up The A-Team as a possible touchpoint for the series, Rau concurs. “A-Team is a great analog. I love A-Team, as well. The fact that you have this team that is on the run, the Bad Batch, from the Empire, it gives us an opportunity to follow these cool guys. But they’re being hunted by all of the Empire. So where do they go? What do they do? As an elite special forces unit that do their jobs so well within the confines of the army, like the A-Team, what happens when they’re outside of that?” 

From the sounds of it, they’re in for a dose of reality. “How do they deal with buying food when they’ve never had to? What do they do when their armor breaks down and they can’t take it down to the armory to get it kitted up? Or what about when there’s no fuel for their ship? That’s something we get into right away on the show, and that’s really interesting to us as creators,” Rau says. “It’s kind of flipping these special forces guys around, where they have to deal with things they never have before. And then, on top of that, they also blow things up and use their individual skills to tactically get out of situations.”

While all members of the Bad Batch have their unique gifts and moments to shine, Hunter stands out -- and not just because of the aforementioned tattoo and Rambo-esque headband. “He really is the conscience of the team,” Rau says. “He is not only the leader of this squad, but he takes on a father-figure role to a lot of them. Everything I was saying about how they deal with non-military life, he’s really the focal point for how we get into that, and then all of our other characters augment that, as well.”

One thing the Bad Batch will have to deal with is, of course, each other. Just because they’re a team doesn’t mean they always get along. “They’re truly this misfit team that has to figure out how to live with each other. And they do it not because they’re forced to, but because they want to,” Rau says. “As the series goes along, we get into that a little bit more and, really, I think that’s the heart of the story.”

At the time of StarWars.com’s interview with Rau, the premiere of The Bad Batch is just two weeks away. It will be the culmination of a journey for Rau that started on that fateful day in 1980. And though the Burger King glass did not survive past 1981, Rau’s love of Star Wars goes on. “It’s so exciting,” he says. “As a big Star Wars fan -- this is going to sound weird because I’ve seen these episodes so many times -- I’m just so excited to watch it with my family on TV. It’s a real blast. As one of the creators, I’m just honored to be part of it. And I hope the fans like it as much as we do. I think that everyone’s going to find something to enjoy in it. We’re thrilled, that’s for sure.”

Dan Brooks is a writer and the editor of StarWars.com. He loves Star Wars, ELO, and the New York Rangers, Jets, and Yankees. Follow him on Twitter @dan_brooks.

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