Michelle Ang on Joining ‘Star Wars’ and Omega’s Growth in Season 2 of ‘The Bad Batch’
Michelle Ang, voice of Omega on The Bad Batch, recently sat down with Kristin Baver of StarWars.com to discuss Ang’s transition into the Star Wars universe as a voice actor, as well as Omega’s character arc in the show.
Ang, a native of New Zealand, is rarely in the same room with her fellow voice actors, namely Dee Bradley Baker, but that hasn’t stopped them from developing a strong sense of camaraderie. So much so that when Ang attended her first Star Wars Celebration last year in Anaheim, she was able to lean on Baker for tips, tricks, and general support on how to withstand the long and chaotic days.
“Having a voice actor colleague like Dee Bradley Baker who’s just been doing it for so long has been such a blessing. He was really monumental because I was feeling quite overwhelmed. I’d never done a convention before and I’m very new to the Star Wars family. I was just nervous about how to engage with everyone. You know, I really wanted to make sure that everyone who took the time to come to Celebration or line up to meet me got what they needed out of it.”
Without the experience of previous conventions or press runs, like many of the seasoned on-screen and voice actors have experienced, I can see how jumping into Star Wars Celebration 2022 in Anaheim (the first one to happen since COVID hit) would be overwhelming to say the least. I’m glad to know that Ang was able to leverage Baker for advice, and that the Lucasfilm Animation team fosters such a supportive environment. I have no doubt that Ang will once again have fans lining up to meet her and attend The Bad Batch panel at this year’s Celebration.
Regarding how Ang’s performance was adjusted to match an older Omega, Ang said:
“That’s the foundation: the scripts. The writers very much took into account the psychological state of an older Omega when they came to writing her lines. On a physical level, it just means I don’t have to augment my voice as much. I don’t have to pitch her up as much. In some ways, it’s almost harder because it’s closer to my natural voice than season 1 Omega.
At this point, she’s so well trained and so confident in her place in the Batch that she has this quite clipped, direct way of speaking, [in Omega’s voice] ‘copy that.’
The wonder, the excessiveness of expression in some ways has fallen to the wayside and she’s a lot more focused on the mission of being a good soldier, doing the technical stuff properly. She really gets her enjoyment out of that.”
It’s clear to fans that, although not much time has passed since season 1, Omega has already grown up quite a bit. She’s a competent soldier, drumming up improvised solutions and accurately hitting targets with her energy bow. Now, she’s moved on from shooting lessons to flying lessons. The greater focus for this season has been Omega’s emotional and social growth. This growth is a priority for Hunter and will no doubt play a central role in his decision-making leading into the season finale next week. About this decision, Ang remarked:
“Obviously having Omega in the Batch galvanizes [Hunter] to think about other options. And Omega’s coming at it from meeting all these people like Phee and Gungi and realizing that everyone’s experiences in the greater universe is at the mercy of something. There is a choice and there’s a real spectrum of how you want to place yourself in the existence of the universe… Knowing what I know about how season 2 wraps up, I think everything ties up quite nicely.”
The choice now for the Batch to remain safely in the comfort of Pabu, rescue Crosshair, or ultimately, to lend their abilities to the larger fight at stake with all of the clones, has been steadily growing more and more poignant all season long. I believe we’ll finally get some kind of resolution for this question during next week’s season 2 finale, and I can’t wait to hear Ang’s performance as Omega faces the greatest potential danger and perhaps the most sinister villain we’ve seen in The Bad Batch yet.
While we wait, check out our review of this week’s episode or read the full interview with Michelle Ang here.
When she isn't watching her friends and family's eyes glaze over at the mention of The Clone Wars, she's at the park with her dog, Melvin, or on the couch with a book in one hand and a drink in the other. Physically, she lives in Ohio; spiritually, she lives in Naboo.
