By George & Josh Bate
WARNING: The following is a spoiler review of Maul – Shadow Lord episodes 1-2
Who could have ever predicted that a character with just three lines of dialogue and who was killed by bifurcation in a movie that was released over a quarter of a century ago would, nearly three decades later, headline his very own television series? That’s the appeal of Maul, the tattooed Zabrak Sith lord who became the face of The Phantom Menace before miraculously returning in The Clone Wars and playing a key role in Star Wars Rebels. Maul’s journey may have chronologically concluded with the brilliant episode “Twin Suns,” but important gaps in his story and enduring fandom surrounding the character meant that Lucasfilm simply could not turn down the opportunity to give fans what they desperately wanted – more Maul. Enter Maul – Shadow Lord, a new Disney+ series that brings Star Wars animation into darker territory than ever through a noir-soaked crime tale.
Chapter 1: The Dark Revenge
Chapter 1: The Dark Revenge picks up approximately one year after the events of The Clone Wars Season 7. Maul found a way to escape the clutches of the Republic by taking advantage of the chaos of Order 66 and has since set his sights on enacting revenge against those who wronged him, beginning with the crime syndicates that abandoned him and his Shadow Collective on Mandalore.
Immediately into the first episode, alterations to and refinements of the trademark style of Lucasfilm Animation become clear. There’s a fluidity (and even motion-smoothing aesthetic) to the animation not seen in even the most recent of Star Wars animated projects, such as Tales of the Underworld and The Bad Batch Season 3. Rather than get ever closer to feeling like live-action Star Wars, Maul – Shadow Lord embraces the imperfections, distortions, and edginess of animation. The show isn’t going for photo-realism, but, rather, a more stylized, even anime-inspired aesthetic that feels more expressive and less mechanical than The Clone Wars or The Bad Batch.
This animation style brings the planet Janix to glorious life. The series creatively integrates animation with matte paintings to give the primary setting of Maul – Shadow Lord a texture that renders it more lived-in and immersive than your average Star Wars location. The planet has visual parallels to Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, although it feels distinct in the extent to which it is neon-soaked and Star Wars-coded.
The series opts against having an opening crawl to orient audiences to the context of the series, instead beginning by plummeting viewers into a thrilling heist sequence. This prologue feels very much inspired by the opening chase sequence on Coruscant in Attack of the Clones, down to certain visual cues and musical beats.
Rook Kast, Maul’s first lieutenant voiced by Vanessa Marshall, leads a crew, which includes the Zabrak brothers Icarus and Scorn, to steal from local crime lord Demis. Interestingly, the crew do not care for Demis’ credits; rather, they have their sights on one of Demis’ banking droids. Eventually, it becomes clear that Maul’s intent to steal the banking droid was to pit Demis and competing crime lord Looti Vario (voiced by Chris Diamantopoulos) against one another, which is a bit of an underwhelming first-episode reveal considering the subversiveness of the initial heist and the team’s unique target.
Before that, however, we are (re)introduced to Maul in the most epic of ways. This will be the first of numerous dramatic entrances for the character in the series, but a character so badass can be forgiven for being a tad melodramatic at times.
With Maul’s introduction, the series showcases another novel dimension to its animation – aggression. Matching the lead character’s tormented psyche and tumultuous history, the animation of Maul – Shadow Lord feels more intense and aggressive. The movement of Maul’s iconic red lightsaber feels bolder and more unwieldy, matching the inner chaos of the revenge-obsessed lead character. This scene also shows that the series more broadly is not pulling any punches with its depiction of violence. Despite being positioned as the protagonist of the series, Maul is still very much a bad guy and doesn’t bat an eyelid at having to injure or kill.
After this, Chapter 1 introduces audiences to a new character named Devon Izara (voiced by Gideon Adlon). Devon, a pinkish-red skinned Twi’lek, is the Jedi apprentice of Eeko-Dio Daki (voiced by Dennis Haysbert) and together they try to survive a post-Order 66 galaxy in which Jedi are viciously hunted by the enemy. Shortly after being introduced, Devon is arrested for stealing food, a seemingly menial moment that will have grand consequences moving forward. The idea of a Jedi needing to resort to stealing to obtain food, and then to be arrested for doing so, marks an intelligent and more understated way to depict the struggles of Jedi at this time. Even while not being actively pursued by Imperial forces, the remaining Jedi face a myriad of more day-to-day struggles, including securing shelter and obtaining sustenance. In depicting these struggles for Devon and Daka, Maul – Shadow Lord adds a subtle, yet important dimension to the suffering of the surviving Jedi during Imperial reign.
The series then introduces us to another new character – Brander Lawsen, voiced by Academy Award nominee Wagner Moura. Lawsen made his first appearance in the recently released Shadow of Maul prequel comic, which led us to label him as the Jim Gordon of the Star Wars universe in our breakdown last month. Lawsen is clearly the foil to Maul in the series, but he’s not a traditional lawman. He almost immediately picks up on the unusual target of the heist and has a clear disdain for the Empire, going so far as to want to resolve this conflict quickly to avoid Imperial intervention. Moura carries such a powerful, notable voice, which, coupled with the Jim Gordon-aesthetic of Lawsen, draws immediate attention to and investment in his character, a different kind of lawman in a galaxy far, far away.
The episode cuts away to Maul, who makes it clear to Rook Kast that he is in search of a powerful tool to aid in his pursuit of revenge. This tool, of course, is an apprentice, someone who Maul can team up with to defeat the Empire, in particular Darth Sidious. The first episode certainly keeps Maul at arm’s length, but Sam Witwer does such compelling voice work that Maul’s presence is felt throughout the entire episode even when he’s not on-screen. At this point, Witwer could probably play Maul in his sleep and yet he somehow finds ways to add new dimensions to a character he’s played for well over a decade now. The Maul we see in this first chapter is more calculated and measured than the rageful revenge hound depicted in previous stories.
Through the conversation between Maul and Rook Kast, Maul’s objective becomes clear: he wishes to pit the crime bosses Vario and Demis against one another so both of their criminal syndicates come crashing down. With no opening crawl and little expository dialogue, the series makes a bold choice in not providing much context for Maul’s desire for revenge against Vario, Demis, and the Empire more broadly. This means that those who are not caught up with Maul’s journey, in particular the Shadow Collective episodes of The Clone Wars and the Siege of Mandalore arc, may be somewhat unclear as to why Maul so desperately seeks vengeance.
Vario and Demis have a Godfather-esque meeting with one another to clear the air about the recent heist. But Maul’s crew drop the head of the banker droid on the table and all hell breaks loose, just as Maul intended. Some action ensues, culminating in Vario murdering Demis before being arrested.
Instead of falling in the hands of Maul’s crew, however, Vario is arrested and placed in a holding cell at the Janix police department, coincidentally right across from where Devon is being held. Maul and his team stage an epic siege of the jail, featuring yet another dramatic entrance and a hallway sequence that gives Daredevil a run for his money. The combat feels brutal, messy, and distorted – decidedly more aggressive and raw than lightsaber action we’ve seen in previous Star Wars animation.
Maul eventually makes his way to Vario, who manages to weasel his way out from under a lightsaber by offering to give up the Pykes to his former Shadow Collective colleague. Maul agrees, showcasing yet again his more measured approach to revenge in this series. But before he leaves, he senses the Force sensitivity of Devon. He walks over to her cell and ominously looks in before using the Force to open the door. The episode’s best visual then appears as Maul’s shadow looms over Devon, cast in the red emergency lighting of the prison. Devon recognizes Maul and says his name aloud.
Chapter 2: Sinister Schemes
Chapter 2 picks up immediately after the events of Chapter 1 and tracks Maul and his crew as they escape from the Janix prison, with Vario and Devon in tow. During the escape, Master Dako steps in and uses the Force to cause a car accident (very unlike the man who plays the Allstate guy in all the commercials).
From there, the episode splits into two strands, both of which are less action-focused as Chapter 1. One of these strands focuses on Brander Lawson, offering a glimpse into his strained home life and revealing more about his disdain for the Empire. Lawsen shares a nice banter with his droid Two-Boots (voiced by Richard Ayoade), but, interestingly, the show does not use the droid as a source of humor. In fact, Maul – Shadow Lord’s first two episodes are almost entirely devoid of humor, a stark contrast to the more comically-tinged Star Wars animation we’re used to. Again, this is a bold choice and marks a shift from what we’ve come to expect from your average Star Wars animated series. It’s clear that the creative team are committed to capturing a tone that mirrors the inner intensity of its titular character, and are willing to pump the brakes on the humor in order to do so.
The most interesting parts of the episode, however, arrive as Maul slowly tries to convert Devon to his side and make her his apprentice. Maul clearly takes a page out of Darth Vader’s book as, like the man formerly known as Anakin Skywalker and his approach to winning over his son Luke, the Zabrak tries to seduce, entice, and manipulate Devon into seeing things the way he sees them. It was also cool to hear Maul utter the name “Darth Sidious” in outlining his plan to fashion Devon into an apprentice to aid in his pursuit of revenge.
The conversations between Devon and Maul prove fascinating, especially as Maul makes a pretty compelling argument for how similar he and Devon are. Both were indoctrinated by an Order that presented a skewed version of the galaxy to them. Both were left to grieve unfulfilled fates. And both find themselves unhappy with the state of the galaxy under Imperial rule.
Maul’s point about Devon operating under the premise that he is a villain and that there is more than just good and evil is a particularly interesting one as it, in a nutshell, captures what’s so interesting about Maul – Shadow Lord. This is different from all other Star Wars movies and shows that have come before it in that its protagonist is a bad guy. Even The Book of Boba Fett didn’t do this, instead choosing to turn the brutal bounty hunter into a more wholesome figure. As of its first two episodes at least, the new series is committed to Maul’s position as a bad guy and thankfully doesn’t try to justify or excuse his myriad of wrong-doings.
The episode concludes with Devon finally using her Force abilities to break out of jail and, in turn, doing exactly what Maul wanted her to do. Unfortunately, Chapter 2 then comes to a bit of an abrupt ending but certainly leaves one curious what’s to come now that Devon has escaped the clutches of Maul.
VERDICT: 7/10
Maul – Shadow Lord kicks off a new era for Star Wars animation, one decidedly darker, grittier, and more intense. The first two episodes showcase a more aggressive, imperfect, and distorted animation style that suits the tone of the show and the tormented psyche of its titular character. While Maul doesn’t feature as front-and-center as one would hope in these initial episodes, Sam Witwer’s engrossing voice performance as a different, more measured version of the character ensures that his presence is always felt, even while off-screen. Brander Lawsen, Maul’s foil on the other side of the law, makes for an interesting addition to the mix and represents a different kind of lawman for a galaxy far, far away. Devon Izarra, meanwhile, compels as an Order 66 survivor burdened by more day-to-day struggles of living in a galaxy in which Jedi are branded the enemy. Maul and Devon’s conversations, which mirror the tones of those between Vader and Luke in The Empire Strikes Back and Anakin and Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith, are the highlights of a duo of premiere episodes, which, while concluding a tad abruptly, set the stage nicely for a noir-soaked, pulpy, cops-vs.-robbers series.