Book news: The Bad Batch returns in 'Star Wars: Sanctuary'

The story by author Lamar Giles is set during season 2 of the Disney+ series.

Feb 05, 2025

The Bad Batch returns in a new novel

The Bad Batch is back! This time, in a new novel by Lamar Giles — author of bestselling YA thrillers and the short story “Twenty and Out” in From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi.

I wrote last week that Star Wars may publish a Bad Batch book this year based on a Penguin Random House UK listing with few details. Luckily, it didn’t take long for them to confirm the book — Star Wars: Sanctuary.

In the official announcement, StarWars.com shared the book’s gorgeous cover as well as the synopsis. I don’t know about you, but I think the cover is giving classic Republic Commando vibes.

Sanctuary follows Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, and Omega during the events of Season 2. The story is specifically set after the episode “Pabu,” where their peaceful island refuge was wrecked by a tsunami. The group of clones works with the “liberator of treasures” Phee Genoa to find some jobs that will get them the credits they need to rebuild the island.

Synopsis:

Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, and Omega gamble on a mission to help rebuild Pabu in this thrilling adventure for The Bad Batch.

A good soldier knows that life is all about change — whether it’s on or off the battlefield. Surviving, living, means adaptation. Hunter is well acquainted with this lesson. He’s on the run from the Empire, Echo’s off on a mission with Captain Rex, and Crosshair is . . . still Crosshair, but amidst all the change, Hunter still has Tech, Wrecker, and Omega.

And it seems that his small family might have finally found a safe place to land, far from the increasingly vigilant eyes of the Empire: Pabu. But their potential new island home is in desperate need of resources if there is any hope for the fledgling community to recover from a devastating sea wave. That’s where Phee Genoa, self-proclaimed liberator of treasures, comes in, with a couple of jobs she swears will get them the funds they need. Despite Hunter’s concern with Phee’s precarious plans, the rest of the crew is fine following her lead.

Things go wrong almost immediately, as Phee’s droid blows the crew’s cover at a high-stakes auction, and they barely make it out with the relic they’d been paid to acquire. Hunter insists they finish their first mission and deliver the relic before taking on more work, but Phee and the others push forward with a second job: ferrying a couple on the run, one of whom is due to give birth at any moment. Hunter worries what they’re risking, especially when their mysterious new passengers cling to lies and secrets that trace back to an Imperial Security Bureau officer hot on their trail.

As Hunter tries to get the crew back on a stable, safe path far, far away from anything to do with the Empire’s watchdogs, their overlapping missions only invite more danger and chaos. On the verge of failing both their desperate passengers and their community on Pabu, the Batch must remember that the only way they succeed, the only way they survive to fight another day, is by trusting each other.

I’m incredibly excited for this book, especially because there are so few clone-focused stories beyond the Legends Republic Commando series. With Giles being known for his YA thrillers, I’m curious about his take on an adult Star Wars novel. Before this announcement, I’d assumed any Bad Batch book would be young adult, possibly focused on Omega and her journey during or after the series. But, of course, I welcome any and all new Star Wars books.

What are your thoughts on Star Wars: Sanctuary? What are you hoping to see in the Bad Batch novel?