Created by Dave Filoni, Maul: Shadow Lord picks up after the events of The Clone Wars, which finds Maul (Sam Witwer) plotting to rebuild his criminal syndicate on a planet untouched by the Empire. There, he crosses paths with a disillusioned young Jedi Padawan who may just be the apprentice he is seeking to aid him in his relentless pursuit for revenge.
Maul has been on quite the journey, starting off as the cool-looking but wasted Sith Lord in The Phantom Menace to becoming one of the most deeply layered and complex villains in the Star Wars universe, all thanks to Dave Filoni resurrecting the character in The Clone Wars series. If there was anyone more deserving of having a solo spinoff series made all about them it had to be Maul, and given the large gap between where we last saw him in season 7 of The Clone Wars to where we see him in Rebels there was plenty of opportunity to tell a story about him. And sure enough, Dave Filoni comes in with a series that shows us exactly what Maul has been up to since we last saw him and gradually begins to bring his story in Star Wars full circle. Did this first season live up to expectations after so much demand for a solo series for this character? It certainly did!
Maul: Shadow Lord delivers another top-tier animated installment for Star Wars that is phenomenally crafted on every level and once again cements the titular character as one of the best in all of Star Wars. It’s a darker, grounded, and grittier story about Maul that dives further into his psyche while simultaneously expanding the Star Wars universe through the perspective of new characters that affect Maul’s journey in various ways during the post Clone Wars era. The character work is amazing, the writing is strong with the force, the animation is absolutely beautiful, and the action, particularly the lightsaber combat, is perhaps the best in the entirety of the franchise. While animated shows like The Bad Batch and the Tales saga have been mostly solid, this series is on a whole different level compared to them, really setting itself as S-tier Star Wars and sets a new bar for animation projects in the universe as a whole.
The voice performances for this series were absolutely top-notch for both returning characters as well as completely new ones introduced to us on the planet Janix. But of course the best performance of the season is from none other than the titular shadow lord himself reprised by Sam Witwer. Sam Witwer has been able to give so much incredible depth to Maul over the many years he has played the character, but his performances in this series might just be his best yet as the character as we get to see Maul and his motivations in an entirely different way. Through Sam’s performance and fantastic writing, we witness subtle additions of complexity to Maul as he seeks to not only try to kill the one person, Palpatine, who did the most wrong to him but also try to stop this person from doing to others what was done to him.
Maul is still a villain through and through so don’t expect him to undergo any kind of redemption arc in this series, but him choosing to target Palpatine for a reason bigger than himself feels like a deserved evolution for the character and makes you feel actually invested him as a leading character despite knowing his ultimate fate later down the road. Dave Filoni and Sam Witwer truly love and care about this character so I’m glad to see they fleshed him out further and give him such an interesting direction in this series.
Maul is surrounded by numerous but investing individuals that all impact his journey in this season, with the most impactful among them being two surviving Jedi, a Padawan named Devon Izara, voiced by Gideon Adlon, and her master Eeko-Dio Daki, voiced by Dennis Haysbert. Gideon Adlon’s performance as Devon is truly fantastic as she helps ground the series in reality with a character who is conflicted between right and wrong while slowly beginning to be tempted by the offerings Maul gives for her to be his potential new apprentice despite her master’s protests. The slow but seething seduction of Devon to the dark side is both sinister and tragic as we see how the combination of Maul’s mental tactics and outside events causes her to gradually become someone she shouldn’t be. She’s a truly interesting character that I didn’t think I’d get as invested in but I did, along with her master Daki, who is given a wonderful voice performance by Dennis Haysbert giving the character immense wisdom, grace and offerings of hope in dark times.
Most Star Wars stories set after the events of Order 66 have depicted the struggles of the Jedi as being viciously hunted by the Empire and Inquisitors across the galaxy, but this series highlights that some of the Jedi end up suffering in more subtle ways. With them living in a galaxy that has branded them as enemies, it leads to the Jedi struggling to have their basic needs met. While that is not as visceral of a threat as an Inquisitor hunting them, which does eventually happen to these two, this representation of Jedi suffering shows a new perspective on the depths of the Jedi’s struggles and how Palpatine’s actions forever changed how they are perceived and treated in the galaxy in this era.
Another new addition to the world of Star Wars are some citizens of Janix, with the first being Brander Lawson, a police detective on Janix who is part of local law enforcement, separate from the Galactic Empire and is voiced by the incredibly talented Wagner Moura. Moura brings gravitas and grounded realism to his performance as a character who is unfortunately drawn into the horrors of the Empire and powers beyond him all because of his confrontation of Maul and his criminal underworld schemes. He is just a normal man trying to do his job alongside his droid partner Two-Boots, voiced by Richard Ayoade, and support his son Rylee, voiced by Charlie Bushnell, so you can’t help but feel bad for everything he endures and you root for his survival even when all the odds are stacked against him.
Another native to Janix that Maul has to deal with is Looti Vario, voiced by Chris Diamantopoulos, a fast-talking Aleena crime lord who once betrayed Maul and is now forced into helping in reclaim his stature in the criminal underworld. This overcompensating little gremlin serves as the only source of comedic relief and levity in the series, but thankfully is not overbearing or annoying but actually very funny, reminding me a lot of Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas.
Then there are the inquisitors who serve as the main villains of the season and come in the form of two familiar faces we have seen in other Star Wars media, which are First Brother Marrok from Ahsoka Season 1 and Eleventh Brother Crow from Tales of the Jedi. These two had very short supporting roles in their respective introductory appearances but here in Maul Shadow Lord they end up being a real threat against all of our main characters including Maul every time they show up. Marrok in particular, voiced by A. J. LoCascio, is given a lot of immense presence and feels like a truly terrifying figure that will not rest until his hunt is complete.
The first season of Maul is definitely a grounded and gritty narrative that embraces elements of classic noir detective procedurals and gangster flicks but is at its core a character-driven dark side story that focuses on complex character journeys that are extremely investing. The grounded style and mature tone of the narrative reminded me a lot of Andor, except for the obvious inclusion of Jedi, Sith, and lightsabers. Various compelling themes are explored through each of the characters perspectives and their journeys are smoothly woven together, leading to chaotic consequences as a result of their actions. But what I do love most about the narrative of this series is that a lot of it is told visually, both through the animation and action, without needing to have heavy amounts of dialogue to know what’s going on. The emotions of characters are shown through magnificent expressions and action all ranging from fear to rage, which elevates the tension and stakes of the story despite knowing certain characters do survive in other stories. And all of it comes together for a truly climactic and epic finale that changes Star Wars history as we know it forever while setting up a fascinating direction for Maul to go to in the next season.
Star Wars animation has been consistently great ever since The Clone Wars season 7 and has been gradually improving itself with every series made since then, but Maul: Shadow Lord decides to take a new approach to bring the animation to completely new heights with a different visual overhaul. The detailed models of characters and beings are about the same as they were in previous animated installments to maintain consistency but everything else has been completely revamped in favor of a stunning impressionist style painted animation with loose brushstrokes that blurs the sharpness of the forms and sketch out a worn-out galaxy that is still vibrant yet darkened by the shadow of the Empire’s reign, which matches perfectly with the tone of the series. There are even some moments that I swear some of the landscapes didn’t even look like animation and were instead actually painted or drawn on real canvas with animated characters and objects only inserted afterwards.
The visuals and cinematography of this series by itself feels like a gorgeous oil painting come to life but the most amazing display of the animation comes in the action with the lightsaber duels. Every single duel in this season is absolutely phenomenal, with every fight getting increasingly better and really in leaning into a mix of vicious martial art styles combined with classic uses of the force. Every lightsaber fight is extremely fluid and beautifully animated to the most minute detail setting a new standard for lightsaber duels not just in animation but in all of Star Wars.
Adding on to the amazing animation and action is extremely stellar sound design and editing that further enhances everything in the season, along with the fantastic score composed by Kevin Kiner, Sean Kiner, and Deana Kiner. Kevin Kiner has been a longtime composer for multiple Star Wars projects but it was awesome to see him involve his two kids with scoring this series and really dial up the thrills and chills that this season delivers. Even their unique take on the iconic Duel of the Fates theme is truly haunting in the few times it comes up.
This first season of Maul Shadow Lord both lives up to and exceeds all expectations while simultaneously delivering a top-tier Star Wars installment that really should not be missed. With another season already underway, I am extremely excited to see where Maul goes next and what incredible work Dave Filoni has in store for us with this character. I’m going to give Maul: Shadow Lord Season 1 an A+ = 100.
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