‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’ Jedi Padawan Identity Revealed

Season one of “Star Wars: The Bad Batch” began with an appearance by Jedi Padawan Caleb, but what is his true identity? The Disney Plus premiere of the series gave fans a powerful 70-minute introduction to this new animated adventure.

“Star Wars: The Bad Batch” will have 16 episodes in total, which means fans will have new “Star Wars” content to enjoy all the way to August of 2021. Check out our full schedule to see when each episode of “The Bad Batch” will land on Disney Plus in the coming weeks.

We saw key appearances in episode one of “Star Wars: The Bad Batch” by Saw Gerrera and Admiral Tarkin, but the episode started early with a major one that some fans may not have initially caught. Here, you’ll find out the true identity of the Jedi Padawan seen at the beginning of the episode “Aftermath.”

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Identity of Jedi Padawan Caleb in ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’ Revealed

While a lot of big moments happened in the debut episode of “Star Wars: The Bad Batch,” the tone was set early by showing viewers the moment Oder 66 was executed. The way Clone Force 99, also known as The Bad Batch, responded to Order 66 already looks to be the primary thread carrying the group through this inaugural season.

Episode one, titled “Aftermath,” opened with the Clone Army led by Jedi Master Depa Billaba in conflict on the planet Kaller and in dire need of reinforcements. A Jedi Padawan by the name of Caleb arrived moments into the episode, and this cued the arrival of Clone Force 99 as the reinforcements who took out the droids.

Things took a turn before long, and you can read more about what happened to Caleb in our episode one review. Viewers may have felt the name or sound of Caleb’s voice were familiar, but the big clue came in the final credits which identified the character as Caleb Dume and revealed he was voiced by Freddie Prinze Jr.

Caleb Dume is the birth name of Kanan Jarrus, one of the primary characters in the animated series “Star Wars Rebels,” and Jarrus is voiced in that series by Freddie Prinze Jr., according to IMDB. According to Star Wars Fandom, the details of why Caleb Dume chose to take the name Kanan Jarrus are explored in the fifth issue of the Marvel comic “Kanan: The Last Padawan.”

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What Do We Know About Jedi Master Depa Billaba

While much of the focus early on in the episode goes to Jedi Padawan Caleb Dume, the battle on Kaller is being led by Jedi Master Depa Billaba. While she appears in an episode of “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and is later mentioned several times in “Star Wars Rebels,” the first time viewers got to meet Depa Billaba was actually during “Episode I: The Phantom Menace.”

Billaba is a member of the Jedi Council and can be seen during the scene where a young Anakin Skywalker is brought before the Council by Qui-Gon Jinn. In “The Phantom Menace,” Billaba is portrayed by Indian actress Dipika O’Neill Joti. Billaba appears again in “Episode II: Attack of the Clones,” but didn’t actually film any new footage and was only shown using footage originally shot during the filming of “The Phantom Menace,” according to IMDB.

Dipika O’Neill Joti has only one other credit on IMDB, where she’s identified as playing the Mayor in the 2001 TV series “Gimme 6.” Jedi Master Depa Billaba has continued to appear in “Star Wars” novels such as “Dark Disciple” and “A New Dawn,” as well as the Marvel comic “Kanan: The Last Padawan.”

The voice for Billaba in “Star Wars: The Bad Batch” was provided by Archie Panjabi, according to IMDB, and she is most well-known for her roles in “Life on Mars” and “The Good Wife.” This was the first “Star Wars” credit in the career of Archie Panjabi.

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