Star Wars Wants To Depart Darth Maul Behind

April 21, 2025

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Maybe essentially the most stunning current announcement we obtained from Star Wars Celebration in Japan this weekend was the animated sequence Darth Maul: Shadow Lord, set throughout the Imperial period of the galaxy. The truth that this was largely unnoticed, particularly for such a well-liked character, stays a sobering indictment of how a lot his story has been exhausted lately. Not solely is it full, however there may be little left to indicate that we’ve not already seen, and the sequence simply seems like an try and maintain staying in the identical time interval time and again. That is not a brand new flaw of the franchise, however it’s one Lucasfilm has but to study from or resolve, which is one thing that ought to fear all of us.

‘Star Wars’ Has Explored Maul From Each Potential Angle

When he first debuted in Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace twenty-five years in the past, Darth Maul (Ray Park) instantly stood out as essentially the most attention-grabbing factor about an in any other case mediocre movie. Together with his new double-bladed lightsaber and demonic look, he captured the eye of the viewers greater than another prequel-era character, regardless of having nearly no likes and just some minutes of display screen time. Nonetheless, he was killed off very early and was by no means a deep or complicated character, even within the a number of novels that adopted, and it was thus an important shock when The Clone Wars introduced his character again in its later seasons. Because of stellar vocal performing from Sam Witwer and exploration of his ties to the Nightsisters of Dathomir, Maul arguably grew to become the very best a part of the present throughout its ultimate years, maybe most notably with the ultimate Mandalore subplot, and has remained a staple of Star Wars animation ever since.

As time went on, we obtained to see extra of Maul as he advanced, slowly going from an unhinged loner to a schemer and highly effective chief, controlling each crime lords and the Mandalorian clans alike. He is additionally simply as lethal as he ever was earlier than, even with a single blade, whereas on the similar time utterly out of his depth when dealing with his former grasp. For a sequence that has usually been responsible of undermining different characters, Maul was improved by his arc in Clone Wars, introducing him to an entire new era. Lower to the later seasons of Rebels years into the darkish occasions, and he turns into a darkish mentor to Ezra Bridger (Taylor Grey) earlier than turning rogue as soon as extra, leading to a really devastating and poetic ultimate finish for his character in what stays the most effective and briefest lightsaber duels ever.

‘Darth Maul: Shadow Lord’ Is Not a Story That Wants Telling

Darth Maul choking Bo-Katan in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. — Picture through Lucasfilm

One of the crucial tragic features of Darth Maul as a personality is that he’s all the time destined to finish up again at sq. one, a contemporary Sisyphus who by no means really succeeds in his objectives. This makes any story with him tough, however it feels further redundant with this new sequence. Not like Ahsoka (Ashley Eckstein) or Ventress (Nika Futterman) in canon, who’ve had their tales proceed in new kinds over time, which stay ongoing, Maul has a firmly definitive endpoint for his personal arc.

That does not imply there cannot be an important story, one thing which Andor proved very nicely, however it makes the choices for Maul extraordinarily restricted. We all know he has to finish up marooned on Malachor by the point of Rebels, and the present doesn’t say simply how lengthy he has been there, however having him merely stay stranded for 2 full a long time seems like a extra becoming cycle for such a pitiable character. It additionally doesn’t assist that we have seen most of this story earlier than, from Maul controlling prison gangs to taking up an apprentice of his personal, and there may be not a lot left to do with him this lengthy after his revival.

Whereas Darth Maul arguably represents the very best of Star Wars animation, the way through which his storyline unfolded additionally factors to a serious situation that makes this new sequence redundant. As a result of how Clone Wars was usually structured, with storylines divided into arcs fairly than progressively growing over the course of every season, it signifies that occasions like Maul’s rehabilitation are solely briefly addressed with Nightsister magic and by no means handled once more. Primarily, the model of Maul that we reunite with in Rebels is similar one from Clone Wars twenty years in the past, leaving no room for a lot evolution or change throughout the 20 years in between. Due to that storytelling fashion, one which Star Wars has since typically prevented, it means Darth Maul: Shadow Lord has little to work with, remaining suffocated by each its predecessor and its successor.

Luke Skywalker wielding his lightsaber in front of the Death Star

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‘Star Wars’ Animation Must Concentrate on Authentic Characters

Darth Maul, voiced by Sam Witwer, in The Clone Wars. — Picture through Lucasfilm

It is no secret that Star Wars has been struggling to stay related recently, however in some sense, this battle with the movies is comprehensible. In spite of everything, the sequel trilogy was the core of the brand new period, whereas the anthology movies mainly derailed after Solo: A Star Wars Story underperformed. What feels much more troubling is the development we’re now seeing inside the animated realm. Whereas the live-action tv exhibits are responsible of being formulaic too, they’ve no less than tried to discover new eras every now and then or deal with completely different genres in a approach the animated exhibits have merely refused to do. Each story now’s both an extension of the prequels or set throughout the Imperial period, and it looks as if Dave Filoni is solely making an attempt to cram out as a lot of it as doable, however on the expense of every thing else. The one exception is Star Wars: Visions, which stays non-canonical and is made by a wholly completely different animation workforce.

This isn’t to say there aren’t nice characters to discover. Current exhibits like The Unhealthy Batch or Tales of the Jedi and Tales of the Empire have confirmed distinctive of their tales, however all of them really feel the identical in what must be an in depth universe. Simply as nostalgia for the unique trilogy has handicapped the sequel trilogy, the real love for the prequel period amongst executives and followers alike has left no room for different sorts of tales, utilizing the very same characters and holding them alive nicely past their pure lifespan. Lucasfilm has already proven its capacity to create new issues for followers each young and old, and there are nonetheless some promising indicators of this every now and then, however the studio merely must do it extra in the event that they wish to absolutely study from their previous errors and stay related.

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