About a year after “Maul: Shadow Lord” was announced at Star Wars Celebration 2025 in Japan, Disney and Lucasfilm released the trailer for the show which takes place after the events of “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” animated series.
The series is slated for release in early 2026 and will center on Maul rebuilding his criminal syndicate Crimson Dawn (introduced in “Solo: A Star Wars Story”) on the planet Janix, which is a planet untouched by the Empire.
Sam Witwer (Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars”) will once again voice the former Sith Lord and apprentice to Darth Sidious, who is now Emperor Palpatine. There is also an ensemble of new characters introduced in the trailer which are Devon Izara, a disillusioned Twi’lek Jedi Padawan on the run from the Galactic Empire who could be a potential apprentice to Maul, Captain Brander Lawson, police detective investigating the criminal elements on Janix, and his droid 2BOT, better known as “Two Boots.” In addition to those characters, the inquisitor Marrok from Ahsoka Season 1 is also featured as a character in the series.
In the trailer, Maul talks as if he is talking directly to us, the audience, as he narrates that he will “show the galaxy for what it truly is” and to “see things from a new perspective.” Then the trailer goes to Devon who questions if what the future holds involves always running. We also see Captain Brander Lawson hot on Maul’s tail and he sees a hologram of him. Maul then narrates that we “have all been made to suffer” and that “we survive but do not live.” Then the Inquisitorious, also hot on Maul’s tail, are shown including Marrok and the Eleventh Brother (who was seen in “Tales of the Jedi.”)
Another amazing thing about the trailer is the animation which, according to Executive Producer and Vice President of Lucasfilm Animation Athena Portillo, involves “capturing brush strokes by painting them on glass, shooting them then strategically placing them in shots.” According to Portillo, the animation and matte paintings for the show were done by Joel Aron.
“Maul: Shadow Lord” will span 10 episodes and will premiere April 6 on Disney+.
