It’s hard to keep a good (bad?) Sith Lord down.
Darth Maul, the villain from Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace, will be returning to the Star Wars universe next year as a new animated series Maul: Shadow Lord was announced today at Star Wars Celebration Japan.
For those who have not dipped their toe into the animated side of Star Wars, specifically The Clone Wars and Rebels series, it turns out that Maul managed to survive being cut in two by Obi-Wan Kenobi at the climax of Phantom Menace. He would go on to nurse a grudge against his Master, the soon-to-be Emperor Palpatine. Hiding in the shadows to take advantage of everyone presuming him dead to try and orchestrate his vengeance. By the time of the spinoff live action film Solo, Maul has risen to take over one of the galaxy’s largest criminal organizations. For a more in-depth look at that storyline, we broke it down here when Solo was released in theaters.
And while plenty of Maul’s story has been told in The Clone Wars and Rebels animated series, there is apparently room for a few more to be told. According to the trailer that was screened at Celebration, Maul: Shadow Lord looks to see him taking on an apprentice of his own at some point. There is already speculation that this could be a new version of Darth Talon, a driving character of the non-canonical comic book series Legacy set just over a century after the events of the films.
Sam Whitwer, who voiced the character in his animated incarnation, will be returning for the new series.
