We’d known since April 2025 that ‘Maul – Shadow Lord’ was the next animated Star Wars show coming to Disney Plus, but a trailer hadn’t been made public yet. That has just changed, and we now have a release date too.
The two-episode premiere of ‘Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord’ has been set for April 6, possibly leaving the May the 4th slot open for another surprise anthology series should Disney and Lucasfilm choose to keep the tradition going. In any case, we’ll be getting 10 episodes of Force-powered action and intrigue spread across five weeks following the debut, according to the official news post, with executive producer Matt Michnovetz teasing it’s “a super fast-paced series.”
Star Wars veteran Sam Witwer returns as the voice of Darth Maul, with Gideon Adlon co-leading as troubled Jedi Padawan Devon Izara in a post-Order 66 timeline. The Sith, led by Darth Sidious (aka Emperor Palpatine) and Darth Vader, sit at the top of the food chain, but Maul still dares to build a criminal empire in the shadows. Meanwhile, police detective Brander Lawson (Wagner Moura) and his droid partner Two-Boots (Richard Ayoade) are on the hunt for the fallen dark lord.
Long-time Star Wars animation fans will quickly notice the studio’s signature style has seen some changes, with “painterly brushstrokes” and jagged edges giving this darker story an artistic voice of its own — an approach that also defines the series’ first poster:
At the center of this season is the all-new planet Janix, characterized by a “gritty cityscape” that evokes Coruscant’s underworld (though some key architectural differences can already be spotted). Michnovetz admitted it’s “one part Gotham, one part Metropolis and a hundred percent Star Wars with all these different levels and layers.” It’s the perfect scenario for a story about subterfuge, Jedi on the run, and criminal investigations.
Maul will be clashing with the Empire’s Inquisitors, stormtroopers, and Lawson’s police force, but the wildcard here might be Devon, a young Jedi who needs to adapt after the Empire has taken over. Will she fall to the dark side of the Force as Maul seeks to gain new allies?
We’d bet on that, but impossible to see, the future is.
