Star Wars: The Bad Batch Was Whitewashed
The arrival of a new Star Wars animated series, especially a follow-up to the aftermath of the beloved Clone Wars, should be for celebration. But The Bad Batch found its debut marred by accusations that the series, which focuses on a team of genetically “abnormal” Clone Troopers working as an elite spec ops group, presented its lead cloned characters as significantly lighter-skinned than Maori actor Temuera Morrison, whose likeness provides the face for the clone army. Lucasfilm acknowledged that errors in lighting in early episodes, which made for the bulk of footage used in promotion of the show, appeared to brighten the tones used for skin color in the series. And the company said that changes would be made as the season continued to roll out. Even still, concerns about the series’ cast of “abnormalities” lingered.
