Shadow Lord: Disney+ Revives Maul in Brutal Star Wars Spin‑Off

On January 22, 2026, Disney+ dropped the first teaser for Lucasfilm’s latest gamble, Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, fronted by newly crowned Lucasfilm president and chief creative officer Dave Filoni. He’s back in his safehouse: stylized animation, only this time it looks like somebody at Disney turned up the budget. The teaser is wall‑to‑wall Maul carving his way through the criminal underworld while the shadow of Palpatine’s newborn Empire sprawls as Maul seeks to evade his hunters.

This is the story fans have been begging them to tell ever since Lucasfilm turned Maul into a one‑and‑done party trick in The Phantom Menace and then had the nerve to dangle him again in that Solo stinger they never followed up on. That movie already left a sour taste for a lot of people, so the Maul cameo felt less like a promise and more like a prank. Here, at least, the tone looks appropriately darker. Hopefully we’ll get a good serving of syndicates, spice, and enough implied body count to remind you this universe is supposed to be dangerous. It looks like younger viewers should be advised.

I’ll be curious to see how far they’ll go. For all I know this may be Filoni’s attempt at taking the animated world of Star Wars into a more mature area like Andor. The potential had always been there for more mature storytelling after all. Regardless, I do hope we get some Sith intrigue with Palpatine and Vader. Perhaps a Vader versus Maul? Well, with Sam Witwer still voicing Maul, I have no doubt the character will at least shine in that aspect. His vocal portrayal of Maul is amazing. 

While I do know that this is a show that had been in the making for awhile, it’ll do well for Filoni if this does well and is well received. Animation is his strong point, after all. We’ll see. For myself, I’m cautiously optimistic, and measured in my excitement. Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord is set to release April 6 2026.

Hopefully Marrok, the undead Jedi hunter from Ahsoka won’t be such a chump this time around. 

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