Ever since audiences got their first glimpse of Darth Maul in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, audiences have wanted to learn more about the visually dynamic and mysterious Sith. After being revived in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and popping up around the Star Wars galaxy as a recurring foe, the villain is finally getting the spotlight in his own Disney+ animated series: Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord. He is Darth no more, as the series will focus on Maul trying to survive in the wake of the Galactic Empire and how this rogue agent will survive in this new order.
Maul — Shadow Lord is Lucasfilm Animation’s big animated series, following the conclusion of Star Wars: The Bad Batch back in 2024. Maul — Shadow Lord kicks off an ambitious 2026 slate for Star Wars titles, which will continue with The Mandalorian & Grogu in May, along with Star Wars: Ahsoka Season 2 and the Star Wars: Visions spin-off, Star Wars: The Ninth Jedi. 27 years since he made his big-screen debut, Maul finally gets his moment in the spotlight. Here is everything we know about Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord.
Confirmation and Release Date
Maul — Shadow Lord was officially announced in April 2025 as part of Lucasfilm Animation’s 20th anniversary at Star Wars Celebration. The series was developed by Dave Filoni and Matt Michnovetz, the latter of whom is also the series head writer. Brad Rau will serve as the series supervising director. The series trailer debuted on Jan. 22.
Maul — Shadow Lord will premiere on Disney+ on Monday, Apr. 6, with a two-episode premiere. The first season will consist of 10 episodes, with two episodes airing weekly. The two-part season finale is confirmed for May 4, aka May the Fourth, or, as many people know it, Star Wars Day. Below is a full breakdown of the episode release strategy.
- April 6 — Episode 1 & 2
- April 13 — Episode 3 & 4
- April 20 — Episode 5 & 6
- April 27 — Episode 7 & 8
- May 4 — Episode 9 & 10
Cast
Sam Witwer will once again voice Maul. Witwer voiced the character in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, and also voiced the character for his live-action cameo in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Darth Maul first appeared in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, played by Ray Park, with actor Peter Seranfinowicz providing the voice.
Gideon Adlon, best known for films like Blockers and The Craft: Legacy, will voice Devon Izara, a young Twi’lek padawan who becomes Maul’s new apprentice. Wagner Moura, who was nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards for his role in The Secret Agent hours before the Shadow Lord trailer debuted, will voice Captain Brander Lawson, a respected police officer on the planet Janix. Richard Ayoade will voice 2B0T “Two-Boots,” Lawson’s droid partner. Ayoade previously voiced Q9-0 on The Mandalorian.
Vanessa Marshall reprises her role as Rook Kast, a Mandalorian ally of Maul who led the Super Commandos during the Clone Wars. Marshall also voiced Hera Syndulla on Rebels. A.J. LoCascio, who voices Gambit on X-Men ’97, will lend his voice to Marrok, the Jedi-hunting Sith Inquisitor that was featured in Ahsoka. The trailer for Maul: Shadow Lord also featured the Eleventh Brother, a Sith Inquisitor shown in Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, though it is currently unknown if original voice actor Clancy Brown will reprise his role.
Dennis Haysbert (24, Send Help) voices Master Eeko-Dio-Daki. Chris Diamantopoulos (Silicon Valley) is set to play a character named Looti Vario, and Charlie Bushnell (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) will voice Rylee Lawson. Longtime Star Wars sound designer David W. Collins will voice Spybot. Steve Blum, best known for voicing Wolverine in a number of Marvel animated titles, will voice a character named Icarus. Blum also voiced Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios in Star Wars Rebels.
Story
Lucasfilm’s official logline for Maul — Shadow Lord says:
This pulpy adventure findsMaul plotting to rebuild his criminal syndicate on a planet untouched by the Empire. There, he crosses paths with a disillusioned young Jedi Padawan who could be the apprentice he is seeking to aid him in his relentless pursuit for revenge.
Most of the series will take place on the planet Janix, a new world created for Maul — Shadow Lord. The official Star Wars website says the planet has “largely escaped the attention of the Empire” and is just outside the core worlds, but not quite in the Outer Rim. Janix is “self-governed by democracy and the local law enforcement. Janix is a fragile balance of crime syndicates and gangsters operating with a tacit peace accord upheld by the underworld for their own business interests.” With that set up, it appears Maul will upset the balance, looking to build his criminal syndicate, which will evolve into the criminal syndicate Crimson Dawn, as seen in Solo: A Star Wars Story and since expanded upon in comics like Star Wars: Crimson Reign and the video game Star Wars: Outlaws.
Maul — Shadow Lord is set after the conclusion of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and will run concurrently with The Bad Batch during the early days of the Empire. Maul — Shadow Lord will be set about 19 years before the events of Star Wars. It is also about nine years before Maul’s last known canon appearance in Solo: A Star Wars Story, which was 10BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin).
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