By George & Josh Bate
After the conclusion of The Bad Batch last year, fans have greatly speculated as to what the next major Star Wars animated show would be. Some predicted a clone rebellion series, while others posited a show about Luke Skywalker training a young generation of Jedi. Speculation finally came to a halt, however, when a new animated show was announced that took everyone by surprise.
Maul: Shadow Lord is the next major Star Wars animated series. The show sees Sam Witwer take on the role of Maul again after previously playing the character in Rebels and The Clone Wars. Set in between the events of The Clone Wars and Rebels (beginning approximatley one year after Revenge of the Sith to be precise), the show will seemingly focus on Maul’s pursuit of revenge as he navigates the criminal underworld.
A trailer for Maul: Shadow Lord was shown exclusively to the Star Wars Celebration crowd. Keep reading for a detailed description of the trailer.
Of note, Dave Filoni and Athena Yvette Portillo on the Celebration Stage did not announce what the show was before the trailer was shown. Instead, they let the footage do the talking for them.
The trailer begins with two alien creatures speaking across a table in some kind of hangar. It’s the kind of underworld meeting between crime bosses. Or, at the very least, people on the wrong side of the law. A conversation about the state of the galaxy continues as different beautiful environment shots are shown in quick succession.
Then, a ship lands at an unknown location and a hooded figure begins to walk down the ramp. Initially covered by the hood and surrounding smoke, the person pulls back the hood to reveal…Maul. Of course, the Celebration crowd went wild at this point.
The rest of the trailer focused primarily on Maul training a new Twi’lek padawan after having a vision that she can help him in his mission for revenge. The trailer concludes with Maul fighting Marrok, the Inquisitor who first appeared in Ahsoka. Marrok tells Maul, “So it’s true. You live.”
From our impression of the trailer, it seems like Maul: Shadow Lord may introduce Darth Talon into canon. The Twi’lek Sith Lord who first appeared in the Legends comic series Star Wars: Legacy was originally planned to be one of the main antagonists of George Luas’ sequel trilogy, alongside none other than Maul himself. A video game titled Battle of the Sith Lords was even in development at one point and would’ve seen Darth Maul and Darth Talon team up. Whether this is the person who will eventually become Darth Talon remains a mystery, although we certainly think the hints were pretty evident.
The trailer for Maul: Shadow Lord looked excellent. The tone was fittingly dark. Witwer hasn’t missed a beat in the five or so years since he voiced the character in The Clone Wars. The animation is beautiful and contributes to the seedy nature of the underworld. Filling in the gaps in Maul’s story has always been of interest, especially since Solo: A Star Wars Story opened the door to Maul venturing back into the underworld before his death in Rebels. Now, Maul: Shadow Lord will quickly ascend to Star Wars‘ fans’ most anticipated lists.
