Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord Offers Another Saga Reunion You Probably Didn't See Coming

"Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord" doesn't feature a whole lot of recurring characters we've seen in previous "Star Wars" animated series, but it does bring back a lot of voices you've heard before. In fact, the show marks a reunion almost 20 years in the making. 

Indeed, co-stars Sam Witwer and David W. Collins — who voice Maul and Spybot in "Shadow Lord," respectively — got their start together on another fan-favorite "Star Wars" property as a completely different dark side user and droid duo. You see, they voiced Darth Vader's secret apprentice Starkiller and his droid companion Proxy in the pre-Disney, best-selling, 2008 console video game "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed."

As Starkiller and Proxy, Sam Witwer and David W. Collins were the stars of two of the most popular "Star Wars" video games ever produced: "The Force Unleashed" and its 2010 sequel, "The Force Unleashed II." Set during the dark times prior to "Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope," they tell the story of Vader's secret apprentice, whom Vader wishes to use to overthrow Emperor Palpatine and bring a new order to the galaxy. Unfortunately, a planned third "Force Unleashed" game was canceled before it could advance beyond the early stages of development.

Every so often, the prospect of a new "Force Unleashed" game gets rumored as part of the current canon, with Starkiller himself having nearly been made into an Inquisitor for the animated series "Star Wars Rebels." However, given how much of the "Star Wars" timeline between "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith" and "A New Hope" has since been filled in, recreating the story would likely prove problematic.

Of course, "Shadow Lord" is far from the only "Star Wars" project that Witwer and Collins have worked on since the "Force Unleashed" games. Collins, you see, isn't just a voice actor; he's also a supervising sound designer and recording mixer for Skywalker Sound, having recorded voices and ADR for various "Star Wars" shows and films. Meanwhile, Witwer has done (occasionally uncredited) voice work on live-action series like "Skeleton Crew" and "Andor," in addition to voicing Maul in multiple animated series and "Solo: A Star Wars Story" (where he replaced Maul's original live-action voice actor, Peter Serafinowicz).

"Shadow Lord" sees Sam Witwer reprising his role as the titular former Sith lord, Maul. As Darth Sidious' forsaken apprentice seeks revenge against those who left him for dead in the wake of the Siege of Mandalore (as seen in the final season of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars"), he surrounds himself with a team of allies that remain loyal to him. 

Among the new additions to Maul's entourage on the show is David W. Collins' Spybot. True to his name, the character is quite useful. Not only does he spy on Maul's enemies across the planet Janix (where "Shadow Lord" begins its story), but he fulfills all of the normal functions of a droid, too. From slicing into computer terminals to creating all manner of distractions, Spybot often does his job with a twisted cackle, as skillfully provided by Collins. For now, though, we'll have to wait and see if he gets to do more than that as the show progresses.

New episodes of "Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord" release two at a time on Mondays on through to May 4, 2026, on Disney+.