Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter Is An Essential Star Wars Legends Story Thanks To the Animated Series

There are many exciting announcements that came out of Star Wars Celebration 2025 in Japan. Among the heavy-hitter lineup of guests – from Hayden Christensen to Dave Filoni – was Sam Witwer, the actor who voices Darth Maul in the Star Wars animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, as well as the feature film Solo: A Star Wars Story. Witwer’s performance became an instant classic when Maul returned from presumed death after Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in a four-episode arc in the Season 4 finale of The Clone Wars. Witwer appeared on the 20th-anniversary Lucasfilm Animation panel, where he announced that he will be reprising his role as Maul in the new animated series, Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord. The news of both Witwer and Maul returning for the first time since 2018 garnered massive hype from all corners of the Star Wars fandom, reaffirming Maul’s status as a staple Sith Lord.

However, Witwer recently returned to the character of Maul to record a brand-new audiobook edition of the Star Wars Legends Essentials story: Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter. The new animated series makes it highly recommended for fans of Maul and the Dark Side of Star Wars’ force mythology.

Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter Shines a Light on Maul’s Early Actions

The novel, Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, was written by Michael Reeves and first published in 2001. The novel takes place prior to the events of The Phantom Menace, as Maul remained written out of the Star Wars narrative until 2012 in The Clone Wars. The novel was re-released that same year to dovetail with the animated series, and again in 2022 in The Essential Legends Collection. “Legends” refers to any Star Wars media created before Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2014, with the exception of the original and prequel trilogy films and The Clone Wars animated series, in an attempt to consolidate all stories moving forward as one cohesive canon without any conflicts in continuity. With The Clone Wars effectively bringing Maul back into canon lore, it makes sense that Lucasfilm and Disney would adapt Shadow Hunter for the upcoming Maul –  Shadow Lord animated series.

Occurring directly before The Phantom Menace, Shadow Hunter follows Darth Maul on a mission given by his master, Darth Sidious (Emperor Palpatine). Sidious, operating in the shadows, becomes aware that a sensitive piece of information regarding his plans for the Trade Federation’s blockade of Naboo has been compromised. A Neimoidian within Viceroy Nute Gunray’s inner circle, Hath Monchar, is the one responsible for acquiring and escaping with this crucial data, intending to sell it on the black market on Coruscant – a leak that threatens to expose Sidious’ long-laid schemes to the Jedi and the Republic Senate. Furious at this potential unraveling of his delicate political maneuvering, Sidious dispatches Maul to Coruscant to hunt down Monchar and silence him permanently, ensuring the secrecy of the Sith plans.

RELATED: Star Wars Announces Maul Animated Series (And Its Place in the Star Wars Timeline)

Unbeknownst to Sidious and Maul, the stolen information has already fallen into the hands of Lorn Pavan, a resourceful but somewhat jaded information broker operating in the dark underlevels of Coruscant. Lorn recognizes the value of this data – a Sith holocron detailing not only the impending blockade, but also implicating Sidious. This discovery instantly makes Lorn a prime target for Maul’s wrath.

In the midst of the information leak and dispatched assassination orders, Jedi Padawan Darsha Assant is undergoing her crucial Jedi Knight trials. Her final task takes her to the dangerous lower levels of Coruscant, investigating a lead connected to the Black Sun crime syndicate. It is there that Darsha’s path intersects with Lorn Pavan. Lorn, initially distrustful of the Jedi due to a past grievance, finds himself reluctantly allied with the earnest but inexperienced Padawan when Maul’s relentless hunt begins to close in. When Assant and Lorn land on Maul’s radar, the two find themselves running for their lives while navigating the treacherous underworld to evade Maul and bounty hunters also seeking the holocron, in order to get the vital information to the Jedi Temple.

What We Know About the Maul – Shadow Lord Animated Series

Though Shadow Hunter takes place prior to the prequels, Shadow Lord has been confirmed to occur in between The Clone Wars and Rebels; a vastly unexplored era of Maul’s history. Therefore, the impact of the novel on the series is unclear.

The sizzle reel shown at Star Wars Celebration revealed that the series will see Maul training an apprentice who can assist him in his ultimate quest for revenge against his enemies. Interestingly, one of Maul’s goals in Rebels was to convince the Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger to leave his master and become Maul’s apprentice. With Shadow Lord set before the events of Rebels, it stands to reason that the events of the upcoming series will explain Maul’s steadfast desire to court Ezra to his side.

Though there is no official release date yet, Maul Shadow Lord will premiere on Disney+ sometime in 2026.