Summary

• The Empire is showcased as truly terrifying in Star Wars shows like Andor and The Bad Batch.
• Andor depicts the Empire as competent, brutal, and efficient, moving beyond stereotypes from prior Star Wars stories.
• The Bad Batch's exploration of Project Necromancer is one of the darkest stories the franchise has ever told.

Through TV shows like Star Wars: The Bad Batch and Andor, the franchise is showcasing how truly terrifying the Empire truly is. Since 1977’s Star Wars, the Empire has been a prevalent source of evil in the franchise. Upcoming Star Wars movies will only continue to include the Empire’s tyrannical ways, from the likes of Dave Filoni’s New Republic movie to The Mandalorian & Grogu’s story.

Similarly, Star Wars’ upcoming TV shows will not shy away from the Empire’s villainy, as evident by the newly-announced Tales of the Empire. In all 11 Skywalker Saga movies, the Empire has served as either an explicit or covert threat, as has been the case with most Disney+ projects in the franchise. Despite the prevalence of Imperials within Star Wars movies and shows as well as other projects in the vast multimedia franchise, no project has showcased how truly terrifying the Empire can be like Andor and Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3.

Andor Shows How Brutal & Efficient The Empire Really Was

No other Star Wars property has made the Empire feel so competent.

Firstly, when concerning Andor, the show presented the Empire as a competent, brutal, and efficient machine in a way no other property ever has. The primary vehicle for this was Dedra Meero, Andor season 1's Imperial Security Bureau agent who served as one of the show's central characters. Through Dedra, audiences saw firsthand how the Empire worked at the height of its powers. This allowed the franchise to move beyond stormtroopers who cannot shoot, bumbling higher-ups, and lackeys of Vader to truly showcase how effective the Imperials can be.

This was only matched by the brutality of the Empire that was highlighted in Andor season 1. From the profiling of apparent rebels like Cassian on the beaches of Niamos to the dehumanizing prisons of Narkina 5, the Empire's barbaric ways were shown in more prominence in Andor than in any other Star Wars project. All of this made the Empire feel like a terrifying threat in Andor, something that will undoubtedly continue into Andor season 2's story and make the stories of overcoming the Imperials that already exist that much more effective.

Andor season 2 is expected to release on Disney+ in 2025.

The Bad Batch's Project Necromancer Is One Of The Darkest Imperial Stories

Star Wars animation is somehow matching Andor's depiction of a brutal, dark Empire.

On the other side of the Star Wars pond is The Bad Batch, a show that eclipses Andor's portrayal of the Empire. One would be forgiven for assuming that an animated Star Wars show cannot match up to live-action concerning darker, more mature themes, yet The Bad Batch is certainly proving this assumption wrong. The primary way in which The Bad Batch, season 3 in particular, is doing so is through its exploration of Star Wars' Project Necromancer.

These children are being kept against their will by the Empire, forced into menial tasks, and used solely as blood donors...

The focus of The Bad Batch on Palpatine's resurrection has allowed the show to delve into much darker territory for its third and final season. Not only is the overall tone of the show much bleaker during the scenes that take place on Mount Tantiss, but the writing of The Bad Batch season 3 reflects this more mature vibe. This was typified by the reveal of what is in the vault at Mount Tantiss, that being four Force-sensitive children, one as young as an infant.

These children are being kept against their will by the Empire, forced into menial tasks, and used solely as blood donors. The same can be said for Omega, though the more sheltered nature of the other four children makes the Imperial imprisonment of them that much darker. Through Project Necromancer, Star Wars: The Bad Batch is telling an incredibly dark story about the Empire just as Andor did before it.

Star Wars' Dark Times Have Never Felt So Dark Before

The time period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope is aptly named.

As is the case for most sections of the Star Wars timeline, the stretch of years between Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope has a title. This title, at least within the Star Wars universe, is known as the Dark Times, as first spoken by Obi-Wan Kenobi in 1977's Star Wars. While the first Star Wars film established the Empire's reign as the Dark Times, never have the stories on TV or film accurately reflected this title as explicitly as The Bad Batch and Andor do.

This adds an incredible amount of atmosphere to any project set within this time frame, as audiences are now aware of how brutal and calculating the Imperials can be.

Both stories and their commitment to making the Empire all the more terrifying have made the Dark Times feel more dark than ever. This adds an incredible amount of atmosphere to any project set within this time frame, as audiences are now aware of how brutal and calculating the Imperials can be. With Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3's story only set to get darker and Andor season 2 on the way, making the Empire even more terrifying is something the franchise will undoubtedly continue to tackle in the future.