‘Star Wars’: How Caleb in ‘The Bad Batch’ Connects to ‘Star Wars Rebels’
After the huge success of Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ seventh season in 2020, Star Wars: The Bad Batch was the direct “sequel series” response from Lucasfilm and Disney. The new Disney+ series just premiered on the streaming platform and it picks up at the end of The Clone Wars, rehashing the last moments of Order 66 and Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith. One fan-favorite popped character up in the first episode: Caleb Dume.
But who is Caleb Dume and why did he sound familiar? Here’s why the name and that voice are very recognizable (if you haven’t already figured it out, that is). [Spoiler alert: Spoilers ahead for Star Wars: The Bad Batch].
The first episode of ‘The Bad Batch’ first episode dealt with Order 66 and its fallout
Star Wars: The Bad Batch focuses on Clone Force 99 right after the fall of the Republic, aka right around the events at the end of Revenge of the Sith. Clone Force 99 was featured in the first few episodes of season 7 of The Clone Wars and and they are a group of genetically defective clones. They consist of Wrecker, Tech, Hunter, Crosshair, and Echo.
Episode 1 of The Bad Batch starts before Order 66 is executed. Clone Force 99 is working alongside regular clones and two Jedi on the planet Kaller. The Jedi in question are master Jedi General Depa Billaba and her Padawan Caleb Dume.
You see how close the master and her padawan are, and how playful 14-year-old Caleb is with The Bad Batch. You also see how closely both Jedi worked alongside their squadron of clones and this special group of clones; something The Clone Wars hit on a ton.
However, Palpatine give the devastating Order 66 and it was right when Caleb separated from Master Billaba. That’s why she was hit with the brunt of fire from all of her troopers, and Caleb was spared. He was able to escape into the woods, but unfortunately, Billaba fell victim to the fate that the majority of the Jedi did and didn’t survive.
Caleb Dume is shown as a young Padawan, and he’s closely tied to ‘Star Wars Rebels’ because he becomes Kanan Jarrus
The reason Caleb Dume is so familiar and why his voice is recognizable is because Caleb goes on to become Kanan Jarrus in Star Wars Rebels. And Freddie Prinze Jr. voices him in both projects.
Kanan Jarrus is the Jedi master to Ezra Bridger, another important Jedi later on. But Star Wars Rebels didn’t show this whole part of Kanan’s backstory. Kanan is one of very few Jedi left after the Jedi Purge — aka Order 66 — and Star Wars Rebels shows that.
The reason he took on a different name is because he needed to protect himself while hiding from any Inquisitiors or Imperial threat. Because, as you can see after Billaba gets shot, Caleb is chased into the woods. Hunter and the rest of the Bad Batch aren’t affected by the inhibitor chip that’s overriding the rest of the clones’ autonomy, but Crosshair is. He would have stopped at nothing until Caleb was killed. So in the years and decades that followed the fall of the Republic, Caleb changed his name, stopped really using the Force and wasn’t outwardly a Jedi anymore.
What happens to Caleb after he disappears in the woods?
The Bad Batch doesn’t show what happens to Caleb after Hunter says he “died” in the river below, but really he just escaped into the woods. But the rest of Caleb Dume’s story can be found in the Star Wars: Kanan comics.
They’re worth the read, so we won’t put too many spoilers, but Caleb ends up partnering with the smuggler Janus Kasmir who’s native to the planet Kaller. He does almost get executed, but he makes it out alive, and this is when he changes his name and forgoes all signs of being a Jedi. He has some rough years of drinking and “wooing” women, but as you can tell by Star Wars Rebels, he gets it together eventually.
With all that said, odds are The Bad Batch won’t revisit Caleb Dume’s story again. But he was a nice link between The Clone Wars’ final season, The Bad Batch, and Star Wars Rebels. Because all of Star Wars is currently connected and it’s all very sad (at times).
