The following contains spoilers from Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 2, Episode 1, "Spoils of War," now streaming on Disney+.
Talented voice actors can make their performances equally familiar and unrecognizable. The latest example is Héctor Elizondo's appearance in The Bad Batch Season 2 premiere as Romar Abdell, subject of Count Dooku. His name likely sounds familiar because of his extensive list of credits, both in animation and live-action.
Elizondo is currently a series regular on the CBS sitcom B Positive. But's also an accomplished voice actor who portrayed Wan Shi Tong first on Nickelodeon's Avatar and then on The Legend of Korra. In the Star Wars galaxy, Elizondo plays Romar Abdell, a citizen of Serenno. Though Abdell is just a regular guy and not a powerful spirit, knowledge also plays an important part in his story.
Héctor Elizondo Has Been in Several of Star Wars Fans' Favorite Things
With 160 acting credits to his name, Héctor Elizondo is the kind of actor who usually pops up in supporting roles, but leaves a lasting impression. He voiced Jim Gordon in The Lego Batman Movie and Lt. Kragger in a handful of appearances in the DC Animated Universe. His characters have also shared the screen with Scooby-Doo, Mickey Mouse and on The Wild Thornberrys. He typically only stays with an animated series for an episode or two, but his characters are memorable.
Elizondo defied convention in the late 20th century by jumping back and forth between TV and movie roles. He appeared on Hill Street Blues, Grey's Anatomy and won an Emmy Award as a series regular on Chicago Hope. He's also in well-known films like The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, the adaptation of The Princess Diaries and Pretty Woman. Now that he's in the Star Wars fold, perhaps Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau will also put him to work in a live-action project.
Filoni has often hired actors in live-action that he worked with in animation. He cast Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan Kryze, her character from The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. He also cast Anakin Skywalker voice actor Matt Lanter as a New Republic guard who got shot by Bill Burr's Migs Mayfield. It would be wonderful to see Elizondo play a role in Ahsoka or The Skeleton Crew, because using him for Romar Abdell is a great choice.
Romar Abdell Has Long Lost Knowledge for the Bad Batch
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An average citizen on Serenno is not a godlike owl-being like Wan Shi Tong, but Elizondo's character in The Bad Batch has something in common with his Avatar character. Both have knowledge the heroes need but don't have. As clones, the Bad Batch have a very limited perspective on the galactic situation. Upon meeting them, Romar mentions that to him, the Republic and the Empire aren't very different at all. What surprises the clones is his view of the recently-departed Count Dooku.
Tech seems to think that Count Dooku's people were on board with the Sith Lord's plans, making them as evil as the rest of the Separatists. However, The Bad Batch Season 2 premiere reveals a bit more about Dooku that even Tales of the Jedi didn't examine. Apparently, as the leader of the Separatist forces, he stole wealth from the allied systems. He likely told them this was to fund the war effort, but The Bad Batch reveals he hoarded most of it. Romar informs Tech that before Dooku plundered the universe, he robbed his own people first.
Fans don't get to see the cultural treasures in the device that Tech helps Romar fix. What's important to the character, and in turn the audience, is that even on the Separatist side of the war everyday people were oppressed. And teaching that lesson requires an actor with the skill and gravitas of Héctor Elizondo.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch streams Wednesdays on Disney+.