^As I suggested, they might be tying it into the Order 66 chip subplot. It's certainly a better fit for that purpose than the Utapau arc, given that it's very much clone centric. The only part of that arc that had and real significance beyond the Death Star foreshadowing was Anakin's and Obi Wan's discussion about Ahsoka's departure. It's a shame to loose it, but it's not with keeping the whole arc just for that and I suppose if need be that conversation could be transplanted elsewhere. Yeah, that's what I was referring to. From what we saw the original guy's problems were decidedly local, while the sisters appear to have a ship and some kind of connection with the Pykes, which from the trailer seems to dovetail into the Bo Katan/Maul end of things. Purely my own speculation, but I get the impression that the 'walkabout' episodes were originally going to be more episodic and less interconnected (kind of a 'Incredible Hulk'/'Littlest Hobo' type format), and most likely over a much broader span of episodes. The Mandalore stuff probably want' supposed to pay off until season 8 or so.
Reviewing the already-released story reels for the 4 part Bad Batch arc makes me wonder how much they've changed. It'll be a fascinating to see this much of the process for this whole 4 episode arc. Had the same feeling looking at the unfinished reels... was wishing Crisis was chosen over Bad Batch. Maybe they figure that Clone Force 99 is more deserving of being featured. They revisited the kyber crystal power story beat in an early episode of Rebels where they had to blow up one of three imperial transports containing a huge crystal. Breaking Ranks At this point, I'm the most stoked for the Ahsoka arc, since we seem to know the least about what she is doing post Jedi, and she's frustratingly missing from TCW S6.
Or -- just occurred to me -- maybe they're involved in the Siege of Mandalore, so they needed to set them up at the start of the season in order to pay them off at the climax.
Doubtful. At least in any meaningful sense. Those episodes are likely to be squarely focused on Ahsoka, Maul, Anakin, Obi Wan and all of the RotS tie-ins. The Bad Batch are the kind fo characters that'll take over a story if they're in it, and if they were just going to be there in the background of some action shots and nothing else, then they could just as easily be removed. No need to expend 4 episodes of a limited run just to explain who a random bunch of weird looking clones are. Exactly why I suspect their arc has been altered to tie into the Order 66 thread.
^Interesting to already see the differences from the story reel version. Aside from a few lines being re-ordered; looks like they redesigned part of the base by switching the preceding scene from the "in the open" command centre for what looks just like the mobile command centres from 'Rebels' ('Wolves at the Door' & 'A World Between Worlds', specifically.) Just more evidence that they're doing more than just polishing off what they had almost completed, but revisiting them in detail and making changes. Side note: the aforementioned "open" command area is also still there, as you can see it when the shuttle approaches. Which is good since you also see it when Hera & Sabine later visit what's left of that place.
I do wish they had completed the Crystal Crisis on Utapau story too. Not only because that was a fun story but it featured the absolute best Anakin/Obi-Wan. If I had to pick a storyline that showed off the Anakin/Obi-Wan friendship, I would have picked this one and it wouldn't have been close. Eagerly looking forward to the return of Clone Wars this Friday!
brief descriptions for the March episodes have been revealed: March 6 Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Episode 703 - “On the Wings of Keeradaks” - After their escape, Anakin Skywalker and the clones defend a local village. March 13 Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Episode 704 - “Unfinished Business” - Anakin Skywalker and the Bad Batch attempt to gain a victory for the Republic. March 20 Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Episode 705 - “Gone With a Trace” - Ahsoka befriends a pilot but must hide her Jedi past while trying to stop a dangerous droid. March 27 Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Episode 706 - “Deal No Deal” - Trace makes a rash decision after learning what they are transporting is for the Pyke Syndicate.