‘Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord’ Trailer and Premiere Date Revealed

The Maul hype train began with a beautifully animated teaser trailer, followed by a full trailer the following day. We now know that Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord will premiere on April 6th. Two episodes will come out each week, with the final two on May 4th. Let’s go through some of the highlights, what we can expect, and responsibly speculate.

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Characters 

• Sam Witwer returns to voice Maul. Witwer previously voiced the character in The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. 

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• Devon Izara is a Twi'lek on the run from the Empire. Her path will cross with Maul’s, ultimately intertwining their destinies forever. Gideon Adlon voices Izara. Adlon is known for her roles in Blockers and The Mustang, plus her voice work in The Walking Dead: The Final Season.

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• Brander Lawson and droid companion Two-Boots are law enforcement agents on Maul's trail. Golden Globe winner and Oscar Nominee Wagner Moura and Richard Ayoade voice the characters. Both also appear in a prequel comic mini-series, Star Wars: Shadow of Maul.

Time and Place

• Maul — Shadowlord takes place shortly after the end of The Clone Wars. Kristin Baver sets the timeframe as “an era near the beginning of Emperor Palpatine’s reign.”

• The epic story takes place on the planet Janix. New to the universe, Janix gives a gritty feel similar to Coruscant, Corellia, and Nar Shaddaa.

  • Executive Producer Matt Michnovetz said, “It's one part Gotham, one part Metropolis and a hundred percent Star Wars with all these different levels and layers.”

  • The databank entry notes that “Janix is a fragile balance of crime syndicates and gangsters operating with a tacit peace accord upheld by the underworld for their own business interests.”

• Beyond law enforcement and other criminal forces, Maul will have to face multiple Inquisitors under direct orders from the Emperor to eliminate him. 

Behind the Scenes and Art Style

• After a first glimpse at Celebration Tokyo, fans noted a similar art style to Clone Wars Season 7 and The Bad Batch. At the same time, Shadow Lord introduces an artsy feel that mimics paintbrush strokes.

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• Athena Portillo, Executive Producer and Vice President of Animation at Lucasfilm, stated: “Cinematography Lighting & VFX Director Joel Aron really took it up a notch with going back to the practical ways of capturing brush strokes by painting them on glass, shooting them then strategically placing them in shots.”

• "He even went back to establishing matte paintings on canvas. There's always different challenges with every show that we do, but this one in particular raised the bar.”

• Portillo continued, “We also wanted the animation body mechanics and the facial to be more fluid from our previous work and animation director Keith Kellogg worked closely with CGCG and our internal animation team to upgrade the performances of our main characters."

Continue to follow Youtini for more coverage of Maul — Shadow Lord and other upcoming projects. Follow our Bounty Hunt podcast as they cover this show when it airs. And be sure to join our Discord for up-to-date conversations with a community of positive-minded fans!

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