Maul: Shadow Lord Is The Next Star Wars Animated Series From The Clone Wars And Rebels Team

Over the last twenty years, some of the best stories told in Star Wars have come from Lucasfilm Animation, the George Lucas founded animation studio responsible for such fan favourite series as The Clone Wars, Rebels, The Bad Batch, and the ongoing Tales Of... anthology miniseries. And that legacy of ambitious storytelling is set to continue apace, as at the studio's Star Wars Celebration 20th anniversary panel earlier today, Lucasfilm CCO Dave Filoni and Lucasfilm Animation president Athena Portillo — with the help of one Sam Witwer — announced the next major animated Star Wars show, Maul: Shadow Lord.

Set in the aftermath of the events of The Clone Wars, Maul: Shadow Lord is set to see Sam Witwer reprise the role of the horned Dathomiri Sith Lord as he pursues power in the criminal underworld of that galaxy far, far away. In a sizzle teaser for the show screened exclusively at the Lucasfilm Animation panel, fans were given a flavour of what's to come from Filoni's latest deep-dive into one of Star Wars' most complex and fascinating characters. In the footage Empire saw, there were bounty hunters, alien races, and igniting sabers galore, all gorgeously rendered in the animation style introduced in The Clone Wars and refined in that show's final season as well as The Bad Batch. Most intriguingly however may not even be Maul himself, but rather those who he comes into contact with. Among the series' ensemble, it looks like we'll be seeing the origins of Star Wars Legends favourite Darth Talon, a Twi'lek Sith who here will be seen as Maul's apprentice. There's also an appearance from Inquisitor Marrok, first introduced (and quickly dispatched) in Ahsoka, who locks sabers with Maul as he menacingly says, "So he lives."

Given how we've seen Maul's story expand from his hastily bisected beginnings in The Phantom Menace, to his re-emergence and return to power in The Clone Wars, to his tragic end in Rebels, there is still plenty of space to explore with the character — especially in relation to his dealings in the criminal underworld and Crimson Dawn. Now, thanks to this new series from Filoni and the team at Lucasfilm Animation, this vital chapter in Star Wars' history will be told at last when Maul: Shadow Lord hits our screens in 2026. What fun... What fun!