Forget the Sith, Darth Maul Wants More Jedi In His New Star Wars TV Show

Introduced in The Phantom Menace, Darth Maul was everything the Jedi feared most about the Sith; sworn to revenge against the Jedi, burning with anger and hate, and terrifyingly competent and capable. The Sith apprentice was believed killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi, but George Lucas himself eventually decided to bring him back in The Clone Wars. Now, Maul 27 years after his debut, the character is about to star in his own Star Wars TV show – Maul – Shadow Lord. Set during the Empire’s reign, this will show how Maul adapts to a galaxy where the Sith are in charge.

The latest issue of Star Wars Insider features an interview with Darth Maul voice actor Sam Witwer (discussed online via The Holo Files). According to Witwer, Maul actually finds himself wishing there were more Jedi around. “He was trained to hate and destroy the Jedi without ever questioning it,” Witwer explained.

“Now he’s looking at the galaxy going, ‘Boy, we could sure use a Jedi Knight or two.’ At least with the Jedi you knew where they stood. There’s something to respect there. This Empire, he sees no values there, just the naked grab for influence, power, and money. Principles are gone. And he looks at that with a certain level of distaste. He may not have agreed with the Jedi Knights, but at least they had principles. You knew who you were dealing with and you could reason with that. There’s no reasoning with the Empire.”

We’re used to Star Wars stories where the heroes go up against the villains. “This show is bad guys versus worse guys,” Witwer noted, “and Maul’s on the bad-guy side of that equation.”

Maul – Shadow Lord is the First Star Wars Story To Really Star a Villain

This is the key to understanding Darth Maul’s character; he may be a villain, but he’s no Palpatine, and indeed he has been betrayed by the Sith. The Sith got their revenge through another tool, the Chosen One himself, and Maul was discarded. Now, the Jedi are no longer the final target of Maul’s ire; he wants revenge on the Sith instead. We’re literally seeing two different groups of villains going head-to-head, and viewers are desperately hoping that also means we’ll finally see the Darth Maul and Vader showdown we’ve wanted for 27 years.

The Maul – Shadow Lord trailer shows a stunning riff on the traditional Star Wars animation, one with a greater degree of savagery to capture Maul’s perspective. That trailer shows just how unique this Star Wars show really is, because we’ve never had this kind of story told in the franchise before. Leslye Headland arguably set one up with The Acolyte, which seems to have centered on other Sith cast-offs, but that was only set up the first season – and it didn’t get a second. Maul – Shadow Lord should really be something quite unique.

We know that Maul is taking on an apprentice of sorts, Devon Izara, a Padawan who survived Order 66. There are also confirmed to be other Order 66 survivors in Shadow Lord. Until now, the general assumption had been that Maul would clash with these Jedi, but Witwer’s quote raises a curious possibility; could Maul actually wish the Jedi would return, simply because he considers them a threat to Palpatine? If so, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him try to help the Jedi, albeit for his own sinister ends.

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