Maul: Shadow Lord Trailer Reveals A Murky Part Of Star Wars History
Just Maul. It’s cleaner.
No one’s ever really gone in the Star Wars galaxy, as the saying goes — but characters like Maul (formerly Darth Maul) are less gone than most. Even when you think he’s breathed his last, the vengeful villain rebrands and returns. Though he was cut clean in half in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, he somehow survived (with the help of cybernetic spider legs) and came back to wreak havoc in The Clone Wars. He’s thrived in Star Wars’ animated shows ever since, but even when he finally, definitively perished in Rebels, he briefly reared his head again in the live-action prequel Solo: A Star Wars Story.
As Lucasfilm hopskotches up and down the Star Wars timeline to fill in various canon blind spots, Maul’s own timeline gets trickier to follow. But the former Sith Lord has the power to flesh out certain eras that need more attention, like when the Empire was at its height. Though shows like The Bad Batch and Andor have done their part to clear up that murky part of history, we’ll soon dive into the period through Maul’s eyes.
Over 25 years since his introduction in The Phantom Menace, Maul is finally getting his own solo adventure. Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord was announced at Star Wars Celebration Japan last year, with fans there getting an exclusive look at the show. Thanks to some early buzz, we knew that the series would be set after The Clone Wars and before Solo, which introduced him as the leader of the Crimson Dawn criminal syndicate.
Shadow Lord’s first official trailer, which follows Maul as he rises from the ashes of Order 66, gives us a bit more context. Not only will the series show us how he came to lead Crimson Dawn and unite a fractured galactic underworld, but it also sees him take on a new apprentice. The Twi’lek he teams up with bears a startling resemblance to Darth Talon, a Sith from non-canon comic books. While originally part of the New Republic era, Shadow Lord will remix her origins for the Age of the Empire. It’s a fascinating choice that should keep this midquel from rehashing tedious parts of Maul’s own story.
With a new quest and a new apprentice, Maul has once again gained a new lease on life. We know how his tale ends, but there’s still a lot to learn about the fan favorite villain.
