The Bad Batch Just Slipped Some Dune And Jurassic Park Easter Eggs Into The Star Wars Saga
This article contains spoilers for "Star Wars: The Bad Batch" season 3, episode 5, "The Return."
The latest episode of "Star Wars: The Bad Batch" gives us our first adventure with the core surviving members of Clone Force 99 and Crosshair. Naturally, there is still a high level of mistrust between them. When they need to decode secret Imperial plans in the hopes of getting more information about the Empire's operation on Mount Tantiss, Crosshair volunteers information about a location he knows of where they might be able to decode it. Though Hunter is loathe to trust their comrade-turned-enemy-turned-comrade, they all decide to head to the abandoned Imperial Depot on the ice planet of Barton IV, which first appeared in "The Bad Batch" season 2, episode 12, "The Outpost" (itself one of the season's best episodes).
However, this episode also gives us a chance to see the nerdery on display from the show's creatives, as it sees them lifting elements right out of "Dune" and "Jurassic Park" to give us some first-rate "Star Wars."
Ice Wyrms and Dune
As they work to retrieve the information from the encrypted Imperial data pad that Omega stole, the show's heroes encounter a new threat native to Barton IV in the form of giant Ice Wyrms. These Wyrms are sensitive to vibrations and are repelled by sensors spiked into the ground around the base. When the power goes off, the Ice Wyrms strike, barreling below the surface to attack the Bad Batch.
These Wyrms are actually opposites of the Sand Worms in "Dune." In "Dune," the sandworms are affected by vibrations of the thumpers the Fremen place into the ground to call them, which serve to attract them rather than repel them like in "The Bad Batch." Even so, the Ice Wyrms traveling through the snow look like an icy corollary to the sandworms of Arrakis. It's a very cool parallel and a respectful nod to one of the science-fiction franchises that "Star Wars" has been borrowing from since day one.
Indeed, there are several direct lines one can draw between "Dune" and "Star Wars". The world of "Dune," like "Star Wars" is ruled by a largely unseen Emperor. In both, a hero rises on a desert planet, with "Star Wars" substituting Arrakis for Tatooine. One of the most obvious homages, though, is spice being a highly valuable commodity linked to a powerful crime lord (Jabba the Hutt in "Star Wars" and Baron Vladimir Harkonnen in "Dune," respectively).
It could even be argued that the twin children of Paul Atreides in "Dune: Messiah" — who are born after his own turn into a genocidal religious figure and before he walks off into the desert — were an inspiration for the lineage of Luke and Leia (who were also borne of a father who was perceived as a messiah of sorts only to evolve into a genocidal religious figure).
Jurassic Park
"Dune" isn't the only movie that gets a clever homage in "The Outpost." This season has, so far, included a number of great nods to Steven Spielberg's original "Jurassic Park" film. In last week's episode, "A Different Approach," Omega and Crosshair made their escape through a depot full of animals in containers, much like those containing Velociraptors in the opening of "Jurassic Park." When Omega needed a distraction, she even set all the animals free, causing the "Star Wars" version of the Gallimimus stampede from Spielberg's classic.
The nod to "Jurassic Park" in this week's episode of "The Bad Batch" is a little more sophisticated, though. As the Batch works at decoding the Imperial data pad, the power goes out. When the sonic spikes that surround the base also lose power, they're forced to leave the safety of the depot, cross the snowy wastes, and essentially reset a breaker. The only problem is that the snowy wastes are now crawling with the Ice Wyrms who want to eat our heroes.
This is an exact mirror of the situation Dr. Sadler finds herself in during the original "Jurassic Park" film. In order to get the locks and safety systems to go back online on the island, she has to cross the jungle that the Velociraptors have claimed as their own hunting grounds. In both cases, the result is a thrilling sequence that raises the stakes for the narrative and puts the characters in mortal danger.
Perfect timing
One has to wonder if it's a coincidence that an episode of "Star Wars: The Bad Batch" boasting such a blatant reference to "Dune" came out the same week "Dune: Part Two" saw its theatrical release. Sure, it could just be happenstance, but it feels too neat and tidy. The reference is really obvious and I can imagine everyone spotting the connection pretty quickly.
Regardless, it's always great seeing really fun nods to "Jurassic Park" and the "Dune" universe in a galaxy far, far away. The incorporation of elements from the annals of sci-fi literature and cinema is part of what makes "Star Wars" such an intriguing franchise and why film nerds love it so much. It's a property that's always been well-versed in the language and history of the genres it draws from and remixes those influences in the most erudite ways, telling new stories in fresh ways.
New episodes of the final season of "Star Wars: The Bad Batch" premiere on Wednesdays on Disney+.