‘Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord’ is Lucasfilm’s darkest and most focused animated show yet (review)

When The Bad Batch ended in 2024, two spinoff animated shows seemed likely — a Vnetress spin-off and an Omega-led show — but neither came to fruition. Instead, Disney and Lucasfilm surprised fans in 2025 with the announcement of Darth Maul’s own series. Less than a year later, Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord has arrived, and its first season highlights how far Star Wars animation has come.

The fallen Sith Lord’s journey has been a fascinating one. He “returned” from the dead in the beloved Clone Wars show, and cameo’d at the end of Solo: A Star Wars Story — a movie set between the Clone Wars and Rebels timelines — before finally meeting his true end in Star Wars Rebels’ ‘Twin Suns’ episode (2017). Despite his death, he cropped up again in the final season of the show, with flashbacks showing what happened to Maul when the galaxy was shaken by Order 66 and the creation of the Galactic Empire.

None of this will make sense if you haven’t been watching the last decade of Star Wars’ expanded universe. If you just watch the mainline movies, the last time you saw Maul, he was being cut in half at the end of The Phantom Menace. If that’s you, and you need to catch up, the short version is that he survived that and eventually teamed up with his Dathomirian brother Svaage Opress, becoming a crime lord. The duo tried to take on his former master, Darth Sidious (now Emperor Palpatine), only to get thoroughly spanked by Sheev, who killed Savage.

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Following the death of his brother and the loss of most of his newfound allies, he went back into hiding and began plotting (again) how to get back at Palpatine. That’s where Maul – Shadow Lord picks up the story.

It’s a lot to digest if you’re not a Star Wars diehard, but to its credit, Maul – Shadow Lord does a commendable job with smart recaps, well-placed short flashbacks, and fast comments to hit the ground running as it sets up the show’s new story arc, which takes us to the Coruscant-like planet of Janix.

Tall buildings and dense lower areas evoke the familiar ‘Star Wars metropolis’ atmosphere veterans love, but this isn’t the heart of the Empire; it’s a world which “exists beyond the core” (of the galaxy), and thus isn’t on the Empire’s sights… for now.

The local law enforcement has been struggling with crime syndicates for a while, and things get messier when Maul (Sam Witwer) and his small group of allies (Mandalorian mercenaries included) show up to make some credits and reclaim their lost power.

Mau’s reckless band of merry men inevitably leave a trail of bodies in their wake, leading police captain Brander Lawson (Wagner Moura) to investigate the criminal takeover of Janix. Lawson clearly hates the Empire as much as Maul and doesn’t want to attract their attention, and there are some interesting parallels between the pair. Though they’re on opposite sides of the law, both were betrayed by Imperial figures in different ways and have a troubled past they can’t seem to escape.

Equally agitated are Jedi Padawan Devon Izara (Gideon Adlon) and her Master, Eeko-Dio-Daki (Dennis Haysbert). It’s here where Matt Michnovetz’s (head writer and co-creator alongside Lucasfilm boss Dave Filoni) extensive experience with some of the most loaded Clone Wars episodes (such as the fan-favorite Umbara arc) and Jedi: Fallen Order‘s story becomes more apparent. Post-Order 66 Jedi are often just lesser versions of Obi-Wan Kenobi or Yoda, skulking around in swamps and deserts, but this duo can’t seem to stay away from the action.

Though Maul – Shadow Lord features notable performances across the board, it’s the leading duo (Maul and Devon) that, rightfully, steal the show. Witwer is no stranger to mining the once one-dimensional Sith for gold, and with more space to maneuver in his own series, the fragmented psyche and shocking earnestness of the character provide a fantastic hook that previous animated Star Wars works didn’t really have.

It’s a performance that also benefits the show’s dirtier tone and darker writing. Sure, previous animated shows have skewed towards older fans, there’s almost nothing here – except maybe the cop droid Two-Boots (Richard Ayoade) – built with kids in mind.

Similarly, Devon isn’t a retread of other plucky Jedi leads. There’s an edge to her that’s instantly captivating, and the sincere doubts that Adlon’s voice work delivers sell plot beats that could be eyebrow-raising with a lesser performance.

Perhaps more impressive than the fresh story, though, is the gorgeous animation. There’s a visual maturity to Maul’s series, which is a crystal-clear evolution of past works, from the dynamic camera work to the stronger focus on close-ups that underline the more emotional and subtle character moments. Its most striking (and recognized) element, however, will be the “grungier” and painterly flourishes.

Watercolor-inspired backgrounds make Janix’s cityscapes dream-like at times, and there’s an edge and suddenness to lightsaber duels and action scenes that intentionally add a fitting edge to a show that must feel dangerous at all times.

To quote Luke Skywalker: “This is not going to go the way you think.” Maul – Shadow Lord Season 1 might end up where we expected it to (we weren’t allowed to see the last two episodes ahead of release), but the path it takes is full of twists and turns that we didn’t see coming. Maul and Devon’s relationship is an entertaining tug-of-war; Lawson is a caf-loving lawman best described as well-meaning, but out of his element; and the inevitable arrival of Imperial forces (including two Inquisitors) quickly threatens disaster for both sides.

Maul – Shadow Lord has more in common with Andor than with its cartoon predecessors in tone, and that’s a lofty compliment. The deeper focus on internal struggles, thanks to the limited scope of the larger story, helps the overall package and the lead actors’ interpretations of their complicated characters.

It’s quite at that level, though; the show’s structure can feel messy and redundant at times – Lucasfilm Animation’s shows typically are during their first outings – but it’s a propulsive ride that ends up justifying its serial approach as opposed to the Clone Wars, Rebels, and Bad Batch’s laid-back episodic storytelling.

That, alongside a nagging sensation that Maul and other Clone Wars-adjacent elements may be overstaying their welcome, makes it easy to see why some fans might choose to skip this one, but empty fan service, it isn’t. The age of Maul has fangs, and the dark side of the Force is tempting.

Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord slashes into Disney+ with a two-episode premiere on Monday, April 6. Two new episodes will arrive weekly. Season 2 is already in the works.