Sanctuary: A Bad Batch Novel,[2] codenamed "Tanner,"[4] is a novel written by Lamar Giles and released as a hardcover and ebook by Random House Worlds on August 5, 2025. An audio version was released on the same day.[1] It is set during season two of the animated series Star Wars: The Bad Batch, after the events of the season's thirteenth episode "Pabu."[2]
Publisher's summary
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.
Plot summary
Development
According to author Lamar Giles, the battle droids seen throughout Sanctuary are BX-series droid commandos.
The novel and its content was officially revealed on February 5, 2025, after its title was already revealed on December 21, 2024 by a listing on Penguin Random House's UK website.[5] According to editor Tom Hoeler, the writing process for the novel took about sixteen months for author Lamar Giles,[6] which Hoeler stated was a standard development timeline for a modern Star Wars novel.[7]
Giles confirmed after the book's release that he intended for all the battle droids featured throughout to be BX-series droid commandos[8][9][10][11] because it would make sense for Cellia Moten to own such expensive droids.[12] In Giles' mind, Moten had multiple BX units in her possession to always ensure one was part of her personal entourage, with a new BX being rotated into the entourage if the currently assigned unit was destroyed.[8] Discussing the battle droids with a fan made Giles consider a short story detailing how the BX units adapted to their new locale[9] and reconsider how he approached droid details in his Star Wars works, something he was grateful for.[11] Indeed, the battle droids in Sanctuary are described as black-plated,[13] which matches how the BX-series is visually depicted.[14]
Media
Editions
- ISBN 9780593874462; August 5, 2025; Random House Worlds; US hardcover[1]
- ISBN 9780593355671; August 5, 2025; Random House Worlds; US eBook[1]
- ISBN 9780593874486; May 5, 2026; Random House Worlds; US paperback[15]
Appearances
By type
| Characters | Organisms | Droid models | Events | Locations |
| Organizations and titles | Sentient species | Vehicles and vessels | Weapons and technology | Miscellanea |
Characters
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Organisms
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Droid models
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Events
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Locations
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Organizations and titles
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Sentient species
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Vehicles and vessels
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Weapons and technology
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Miscellanea
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Sources
The Bad Batch is Back in Star Wars: Sanctuary - Cover Art Reveal on StarWars.com (backup link)- "Lamar Giles: Finding Sanctuary" — Star Wars Insider 233
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7
Star Wars: Sanctuary (A Bad Batch Novel) on Penguin Random House's official website (backup link)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2
The Bad Batch is Back in Star Wars: Sanctuary - Cover Art Reveal on StarWars.com (backup link)
- ↑ The Bad Batch is Back in Star Wars: Sanctuary - Cover Art Reveal on StarWars.com (backup link) establishes that the events of Sanctuary: A Bad Batch Novel take place during season 2 of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, specifically after the episode "Pabu." As Clone Force 99 Is Back in New Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 2 Trailer on StarWars.com (backup link) states that "Pabu" is the thirteenth episode of The Bad Batch Season 2, per the reasoning here, it and Sanctuary: A Bad Batch Novel must take place around 18 BBY.
- ↑ Untitled Star Wars August Novel on Penguin Random House's official website (original link is obsolete)
- ↑ Star Wars: Sanctuary: A Bad Batch Novel on Penguin Books' official United Kingdom website (backup link)
- ↑ Tom Hoeler (@DarthInternous) on Twitter (post): "From zero to finished book in around 16 months or so." (backup link) (In response to: "Once Giles & co got the greenlight, how long did it take to actually write the novel? Weeks? Months? A year?")
- ↑ Tom Hoeler (@DarthInternous) on Twitter (post): "Its probably close to around the average if you looked across the last 10-12 years of SW publishing. We've certainly done shorter dev times and longer." (backup link) (In response to: "Is that standard? Curious I guess lol…. You’ve def answered this before but I forget sooooo :P")
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lamar Giles (@lamargiles.bsky.social) on Bluesky (post on August 11, 2025): "Gotcha…so my thinking here is that they’d all be BX models (for the reason I mentioned before) but from the owner’s perspective (still being vague for spoiler purposes) one would always be part of the owner’s personal entourage. If that droid goes down, another gets moved into the entourage 1/2" (backup link) (In response to: "Alright! And thank you for helping with this! Firstly, we have the droid already covered, in your mind a BX. The droid greets Tech, Phee, and Omega and then searches them As things get out of hand, four battle droids enter and are taken out. Any specifics in mind for these droids? B1s? B2? BX?")
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lamar Giles (@lamargiles.bsky.social) on Bluesky (post on August 11, 2025): "Now that you bring this up, I think there could be a fun short story about the droids in this particular locale. But, to answer your question…i think it’s BX all the way down. I hope that helps. 2/2" (backup link)
- ↑ Lamar Giles (@lamargiles.bsky.social) on Bluesky (post on August 11, 2025): "Yes." (backup link) (In response to: "Ahhhh, thank you! So, I assume these are BX units too?")
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lamar Giles (@lamargiles.bsky.social) on Bluesky (post on August 11, 2025): "No apologies necessary. I’m glad you’re asking this because if 🙏🏾 i ever get the chance to write more stories I’ll be thinking about these details more. But, for the sake of consistency, and given the sorts of things the owner would be into…a BX with mods tracks." (backup link) (In response to: "And lastly, in the final stretch of the book we have this unit with arm cannons. I assume a BX, maybe with modifications to have arm cannons like a B2? So sorry to take up your time with all this! It means the world.?")
- ↑ Lamar Giles (@lamargiles.bsky.social) on Bluesky (post on August 10, 2025): "I was THINKING BX, but I can’t recall if I settled on that and specified it in the book. The reason I was thinking BX is because I seemed to recall they were expensive so, given the owner (being vague to avoid spoilers), it felt fitting" (backup link) (In response to: "At end of chapter 10, the cast is welcomed by a “black hued battle droid.” At the start of 11, a battle droid pats them down. I assume same droid? Also, what droid model is this unit if you have one in mind? Did you intend for it to be your average B1 with black paint/plating? B2 or BX? Thank you!")
- ↑ Sanctuary: A Bad Batch Novel
- ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Rookies"
- ↑ Star Wars: Sanctuary (A Bad Batch Novel) on the official Edelweiss website (backup link)
External links
- Star Wars: Sanctuary (A Bad Batch Novel) on Penguin Random House's official website (backup link)
- Untitled Star Wars August Novel on Penguin Random House's official website (original link is obsolete)
- Star Wars: Sanctuary: A Bad Batch Novel on Penguin Books' official United Kingdom website (backup link)
