by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
“The Siege of Mandalore.”
“Twin Suns.”
“Twilight of the Apprentice.”
In this most recent Disney era of Star Wars, the animated projects have largely been the most consistent.
Inside of that, the best part of many of the storylines that these shows tell are ones where formerly Darth, now just Maul is involved.
Needless to say, I was euphoric at the newest animated entry focusing on everyone’s favorite doomed villain and I’m even more elated that Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord does not disappoint.
The show takes place after the conclusion of Season 7 of Clone Wars, Maul (Sam Witwer) is seeking to once again consolidate power in the criminal underworld on the planet Janix, where he crosses paths with an Empire-distrusting police captain (Wagner Moura) and a master-apprentice duo on the run (Dennis Haysbert, Gideon Adlon).
Right off the top, a big reason this works so well is the performance of Sam Witwer. Ever since the character made his return in Clone Wars, Witwer has made the fan favorite, cut down too soon, his own. There’s a complexity that he brings to the character that simply isn’t on screen in Phantom Menace. Is Maul a good person? No, of course not. But it’s also much more complicated than that. Witwer (and the animators) let the audience see the pain under the various facades he puts up. Pain is always bubbling under the surface, even when he’s trying to put on an air of control when he’s in the role of kingpin or prospective master. We get flashes of his backstory that highlight how raw a hand he’s been dealt and his abandonment issues are only heightened by the presence of inquisitors on the scene. Despite what the audience knows about Maul, you feel for him at times. I mean, it probably doesn’t hurt those moments that he gives into his anger and goes HAM, you can’t help but pump your fists.
However, Maul isn’t the sole reason this is so much fun. The show is full of interesting and complex new faces. Moura, in the role of Lawson, a detective that finds his work taking him into Maul’s path, is much more than just a good guy detective. We’re introduced to a complex family situation. He’s thrown into a dangerous situation while also being a single father to his son, with his wife not in the picture at home. His reticence to involve the Empire in an investigation, they would have obvious interest in, adds so much to his arc—particularly as the truth of what the Empire stands for comes into clarity for his son. Adding fun collaborators in casino owner Rheena Sul (Pamela Adlon) and another great droid performance from Richard Ayoade as Lawson’s partner, just sweeten the pot.
As far as the master-apprentice duo, the show focuses more on Adlon’s Devon as an apprentice that keeps finding herself trying to resist Maul’s pull as a potential new master. That pull is evident in both her voice performance and how she’s animated. It’s an aspect of her character that I found interesting to explore. As a foil, Haysbert as her elderly master who’s much more trusting that the Force will get them through made for a fun dichotomy—even when they aren’t necessarily scene partners. They both manage to bring a unique spin to a story we seemingly get a version of in every new show that Star Wars produces these days.
I also really enjoyed Maul’s group of subordinates, including a very miniscule and sleazy Looti Vario (Chris Diamantopoulos) and a Spybot (David W. Collins) that nearly steals the “Best Droid” title from Ayoade in the show.
All these characters work well enough on their own, but they also integrate and work well with every other character in the show that makes for some fascinating dynamics and allows for some great exploration of right and wrong throughout the course of the season. The phrase “strange bedfellows” is constantly springing to mind.
Though it’s another project that’s filling in a rapidly shrinking period in the Star Wars timeline, the way the show is brought to life keeps it feeling fresh aided by perhaps the best animation Star Wars has ever produced. In particular, the show uses Jonathan Demme-style close-ups more often than I’ve seen used in any other project to date. Though it’s particularly effective when it’s zooming in on Maul, he’s not the only character that benefits.
Though Janix is a new planet, the world itself reminded me of glimpses we ever so briefly got of a neon-tinted Coruscant in other properties, and it works wonderfully with the noir style of the show. The way the action is animated gives us something new, though the animation will look familiar to those that have watched other series. In addition to the neon-soaked setting, the way the lightsabers pop in an often-dark settings just looks cool. The choreography is often kinetic, especially when Maul is raging, making for some jaw-dropping moments (particularly in the two-part finale). During major set pieces, you almost forget there’s no actual camera, as everything is animated so cinematically. Even Maul’s lightsaber gets a tweak. The way the kyber crystals manifest in Maul’s blade is reminiscent of Kylo Ren’s, as the energy seems to match the unstable nature lurking just below the surface. It’s a small character choice that I think speaks volumes. If I had one qualm with the action, it’s that we’ve seen how the story ends for too many of the characters involved (which also raised some powerset questions when I couldn’t turn my brain off at times). The result is some of the tension is removed, but there’s enough new characters to care about, that it doesn’t put too much of a damper on things.
The first Star Wars project of Dave Filoni’s Lucasfilm presidency is undoubtedly a success. While I can see the possibility of some fans being concerned that it’s Filoni going back into his bag again, it’s a bag he’s very comfortable in and knows how to execute well. Though not the most risk-taking creative, he knows how to nail moments that hit me right in my fandom. Is this the only type of Star Wars project I want to see come out of Lucasfilm moving forward? No. I’d love to see some different creators take some shots at the world, but I don’t see the two being mutually exclusive and starting things off with something unquestionably successful is better than the alternative.
Outside of the creative outlier that is Andor, Maul – Shadow Lord is the most consistently strong outing out from Star Wars in some time.
Rating: Loved It
Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord is currently available to stream on Disney+.
You can read more from Jake Bourgeois, and follow him on Bluesky and Letterboxd