The Maul: Shadow Lord Trailer Brings The Star Wars Villain Back In Animated Form

Maul is back, baby. Lucasfilm has released the first official trailer for "Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord," which is the latest animated series set in a galaxy far, far away. With a list that also includes "The Clone Wars," "Rebels," and "The Bad Batch," among others, this is a prestigious legacy and a corner of the universe that fans have truly come to love. This time around, though, Maul isn't just part of the proceedings — he's the main character.

"Shadow Lord" takes place in the aftermath of the Clone Wars and focuses on Maul as he plots to rebuild his criminal syndicate on a planet untouched by the Empire. As we learned through that big reveal in "Solo: A Star Wars Story," he is destined to become the head of the criminal organization known as Crimson Dawn. As such, it seems that this series is very much going to help fill in some gaps and show us how he got to that point. Sam Witwer, who has voiced Maul dating back to "The Clone Wars," is reprising the role once more here.

Darth Maul's timeline is pretty wild, but he was first introduced as the secret apprentice of Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid), aka Palpatine, in "Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace." That film ended with Maul being chopped in half and seemingly killed, only for him to return, metal legs and all, in "The Clone Wars." He's since become one of the most cherished, rich characters in the "Star Wars" franchise, with "Shadow Lord" promising to fill in the blanks in his timeline leading up to the events of "Rebels." Without getting into spoiler territory, let's just say that show gave us a definitive end point to his story. Still, there is more to learn.

Especially by "Star Wars" animation standards, this show looks to be exceptionally dark and rather violent. Oddly enough, it looks closer in tone to "Andor" than it does "The Clone Wars." Maul appears to be in full manipulation and recruiting mode, with the Emperor wanting him dead. As a whole, it seems tense, surprisingly stylish, and not exactly a kids' show, to put it lightly. This appears to be quite unlike any other animated project in this franchise to date.

Rounding out the ensemble are Gideon Adlon as Devon Izara, Wagner Moura (who was just nominated for an Oscar) as Brander Lawson, Richard Ayoade as Two-Boots, Dennis Haysbert as Master Eeko-Dio-Daki, Chris Diamantopoulos as Looti Vario, Charlie Bushnell as Rylee Lawson, Vanessa Marshall as Rook Kast, David C. Collins as Spybot, A.J. LoCascio as Marrok, and Steve Blum as Icarus.

"Shadow Lord" was created by Dave Filoni, who is one of the new heads of Lucasfilm, and developed by Filoni and Matt Michnovetz. Brad Rau ("Star Wars: The Bad Batch") is the supervising director, while Filoni, Athena Yvette Portillo, Matt Michnovetz, Rau, Carrie Beck, and Josh Rimes are on board as executive producers (with Alex Spotswood serving as a co-executive producer).

"Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord" will premiere on Disney+ on April 6, 2026.