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Maul Shadow Lord Teaser BREAKDOWN
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- Published on Feb 12, 2026
- Maul Shadow Lord is coming in April! We got the first teaser and an article on StarWars.com, so let's talk about what we know about the series, and break everything down!
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I really like the fact this series is even more confirmation that Ezra was not an outlier: Maul made a habbit of trying to turn jedi to his side, maybe even looking to replace savage.
A master allways need a apprentence, there are always 2
Maul also wanted Ashoka to replace Savage at the end of the clone wars.
I’m a simple man. I see Star Wars animation, I’m seated
Same.
Budge up, me too :-)
Like a plant
...except Resistance. Then everyone sane is out.
And Star Wars Animation has always been better than live action, mostly
This show is going to be awesome
Maul should show up on Dathomir, see Taron Mallicos strutting around like he owns the place, briefly consider cutting him down, and then just sigh and say
"You know what? It's been a rough couple of days and I am too tired to deal with this right now. Have fun with the giant bat thing. I'm out."
Dang seeing Taron would be really cool. Maybe we could see him cut down the leader of the night brothers who we see in the clone wars and then his dead body is seen in Fallen Order? Probably not but would be really cool to connect all these things more.
There’s only room for _one_ shirtless Dark-side user who tries to convince an Order 66 survivor to join the dark side, only to betray them and inevitably get defeated by their own hubris in this town!
@chewy99.Agreed , if Maul visits Dathomir , you would think he would cross paths with Malicos or Merrin at some point.
I'm also wondering if we'll get to see more early developments on Crimson Dawn
A duel between Maul and Vader was scrapped from Twilight of the Apprentice for getting too big. Maybe that’ll get revisited here
Hopefully we can finally witness that long awaited fight between Vader and Maul at the season 1 finale, because Maul in Rebels hinted about how he last fought Vader and did not go well.
Star Wars needs to move on from Anakin/Vader. His story has been rehashed so many times.
@nevilleachero8054 I disagree because having Vader dueling Maul would explain why in Rebels, Maul said that he can't defeat Vader alone. It sounds like Maul said that from experience.
It looks SO good!
Everything that has been confirmed about this show so far along with what we’ve seen in the trailer is great! They got the showrunner of the Umbara arc to showrun this show, that’s MAJOR! The last thing I need to hear right now is that Kevin Kiner is coming over to do the music for this show too. He hasn’t been confirmed yet but praying for that possibility.🙏
They confirmed it during Star Wars Celebration last year.
Oh I met Matt (the showrunner) at Celebration and he told me he had a huge secret at the animation panel. Turned out it was Shadow Lord XD
@Ingeneious really?? Why isn’t IMDb showing it?
The Kiner family posted today that they were excited for the fans to finally see the show and praised the Lucasfilm animation team.
I think the release schedule is so it doesn’t overlap with the promotion of THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU
They could have started earlier, like February.
Vader: *after the inquisitors fail*
“Fine, I’ll do it myself…”
Alex we love your "Millenial yells at clouds" rants!
You know things are bad in the galaxy when Maul ends up being the lesser of two evils. I could definitely see Devyn allying herself with him just because he seems to be the only one that genuinely wants to help her. And Maul for his part has always sought companionship first in Savage and eventually with Ezra, though of course it always ends tragically.
Only 10 episode 😫😭
This show absolutely does not feel episodic. Maul really doesn't need Rebels style filler where he goes into different hijinks every week before the story resets to a status quo. 10 episodes sounds perfect! Tight and easily rewatchable.
Also, I'm pretty sure the animators are happy about not getting crunched even more just to make 5 filler episodes everyone will just call lame anyway.
It’s not “filler” it’s “character development”.
I think my personal “filler is good” series is Agents of Shield. The show fundamentally would not work if the first half of season one was 4 episodes. Characters are developed, dynamics are built, plot is allowed to progress when characters need to grow. Are later seasons better? Undoubtedly. But they would not _work_ if there was not a foundation year.
Alex, thanks as always for telling it like it is.
If you don’t like how America is run than maybe pic another country to live
Watching Maul set up Crimson Dawn will be fun. I wouldn't be surprised if Maul and Luthan had dealings considering his faction regularly worked with the rebellion and helped destroy the Death Star.
I really hope that's where the series leads if it continues long enough for it. Would be so cool to bridge those gaps.
Maul is my favorite character
Ten episodes is wild
I'm wondering if the 2 episodes a week thing could mean we're getting another season of Tales on May 4th. I know Disney HATES having shows overlap.
Maul the first rebel lol
I could see this Twi’lek character getting “Talon” as a code name at some point, like how Ahsoka (and like 15 other people) used “Fulcrum”. It could be a fun nod.
IIRC, Sam Witwer has indeed confirmed that Maul: Shadow Lord is not good guys vs bad guys, but rather, bad guys vs worse guys.
I fw this HEAVY
Even though I wish there were more episodes, I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. It depends on the needs of the story. They say the show is going to be "highly serialized" and "super fast-paced", so it makes sense why they wouldn't include filler episodes that might interrupt the flow and pacing of the story.
I wonder if one of the reasons they're releasing two episodes per week instead of one is because they don't want the series to overlap with The Mandalorian and Grogu. I can see why they would want to separate the two projects so that each one has time in the spotlight. In any case, if the show is as serialized as they say, then I don't think I'll mind getting through it more quickly.
Very exciting!
One of my criticisms of "The Bad Batch," especially in the first two seasons, was that it felt like there was a fair amount of filler.
Why does everyone keep saying “serialized”? It just means released/published??
@chewy99. In a TV series, "serialized" means that there is a single plot line that spans multiple episodes. A lot of "bingeable" streaming shows follow this format. What that means here is that the entire show (or at least the first season) is presumably going to tell a single, long story.
@jomole1430 So basically it means it’s not an adventure-of-the-week type thing or multiple different stories that combine, thanks for clearing it up for me.
I also wonder if they just don't see this series as needing several episodes with maybe each of the two episodes we get pairing with each other in some way. The Bad Batch as a whole was solid and it was great we got the episode count we did but also it was kind of made with that in mind. From the talks especially with this, they seem to be aiming for more of a miniseries approach which frankly I'm down for. With all due respect to Alex, it just feels a little bit like personal feelings over Disney (Who I should stress is totally fine to take shots at. We're lovers of Star Wars, not lovers of corporations.) just bubbling over.
I think a 10-episode format puts less pressure on the creators and allows them to tell a tighter, more character-driven story focused entirely on Maul. It also gives them more time to refine the animation and make every episode look amazing-as we can already see in the trailer!
Marrok and bird man lol that made me laugh
Revenge! 👹
Im more excited for this than any of the upcoming movies
Same
Maul vs Vader in the final episode please!
They’re probably releasing two episodes each week because it was so well received when they did a similar thing with Andor.
7:49 Maul almost ran Anakin over in ep 1.
Payback
I hope they touch on how Maul got Ventress's lightsaber. Probably after her burial in Dark Deciple, he went to Dathomir to get those NightBrothers we saw in the trailer and then got her saber as well.
I LOVED the animation style in this trailer. This is the best Star Wars has ever looked animated, hands down.
“Millennial yells at clouds” 😂
Millennial rightfully yells at cloud more like these days
Looks absolutely incredible! 10 episodes is rough though.
Is it me or the art style looked a lot different than the Bad Batch?
It was mentioned that the art style would be a tad different from what we saw last time with the Bad Batch
Nah it’s pretty much the same the only difference to me is the sabers and blasters and maybe the colors are slightly different
Looks mostly the same but with a new painterly filter/effect to the textures and backgrounds
Been waiting for your breakdown Alex .I believe she will, be inspired by Darth talon.I can't wait, for the comic tie in to the show.I love the movie, of the week style we will get I'm used to it after Andor season 2.
3:46 thank so much for being this up and being very vocal about it
This thumbnail is how I found out the trailer released, so I went straight there and came straight back. Thanks!!
As part of the Clone Wars generation (and a fangirl of Star Wars animation in general) I'm SOOOO excited. Bad Batch was so good, and this looks fantastic too. ❤️
I need this injected into my veins NOW
IT'S COMIN OUT ON MY BDAY HELL YEAH
very excited for this, animation has levelled up even more, which is insane to think since its been great for a while, and i love sam witwer's maul, so im glad we get more of that
I can't wait for this show, Maul is my favorite prequel trilogy character and the animation looks amazing. I've been hyped for this since it got announced last May.
8:20 Just my guess but it's less having the same goals of the Jedi/Rebellion & more so a classic Sith vs Sith tales where it's fueled by vengeance & envy for more power, in this case Maul forming his own underworld empire to eventually one day crush & dominant the Galactic Empire
Did you ever watch the Penguin tv show? I can see the relationship of Maul and Devon being like that of Penguin and Vic from the show
Sam said Maul will be like Joker without his Batman. So Kenobi will be his Batman.
“My life ends only when my rage has been vented, when my need for vengeance is satisfied. It will be a long life.”
Thank you!
You need more Maul merch
Maul also quotes the Sith Code to Ezra in Rebels.
I for one much rather prefer a tight impactful story spread over 10 episodes, than a 15 episodes series with some fillers.
The choice to release several episodes together could also be a creative one, we don't know that yet. And to wait seven days to only then get a filler episode is just the worst haha.
Thanks for the great content as always!
maybe that maul vs vader fight i would be down for that
I wonder if Maul is gonna tattoo her the way he was by Sidious.
Darth Maaauuul! ♥️🖤
I love the casting of Gideon Adlon as Devon. She was Violet in S4 of The Walking Dead video game.
Dude if we get Maul Vs Vader, eveyone will go crazy over it.
My biggest concern with this series is that fans will confuse Maul as a hero when he is most likel going to be a villainous protagonist.
Unfortunately a lot of fans already do that with many star wars villains
@niteslashr hence my concern
I hope that they won't make him end up like Boba Fett.
I like that the stormtroopers have that little white droid from the scene in ANH Special Edition where they stop Luke, Ben & the droids. It seems like that droid never gets used for anything because they always want to use a probe droid, which at times can seem like overkill.
I completely agree with you about the streaming schedule and episode cont
Glad to hear you got the same lessons from SW that I did. We have friends everywhere.
And there better be multiple seasons Disney!
I agree with everybody because we had seen too many animated series be left incomplete lately.
This show looks so beautiful from what we have seen so far. The animation keeps getting better and better. And I think although this time period has already been explored a lot, Maul Shadow Lord is going to very unique in that the tone is going to vary from the previous animated shows.
This is where the fun begins
Thanks, Alex! 💥
this gen xer is yelling at the same clouds!!
My 11 year old is getting into star wars and he is quickly watching the clone wars, after watching rebels and the mandalorian. So this will be our first star wars thing we watch together. Can't wait for it. Looks amazing, I have recommended your page to him as well.
Is that ventress's dark disciple lightsaber at 18 seconds into the trailer?
I will be seated
It gonna be good
Incredible 😲 love it❤
Has anyone noticed that Maul is wearing the same outfit in Star Wars Clone Wars and using the same lightsaber that he used to fight against Ahsoka?
The name Talon will probably be used as an easter egg or something.
Maul vs. Vader? I'm down for that.
of course for youtubers etc they want juice to talk and make videos thats why they want seasons and more episodes i really want good episodes and fast pace theres so much to see
Is the planet on the first scene the same planet Jjannex II of West End Games' Star Wars RPG, where the star destroyer Stormclaw fought against pirates above its south pole, the very same Jjannex II that has an electromagnetic disturbance on said location? If that's so, then I'm down for this!
I was already sold on the series because we get more Maul, but the updated artstyle put the final nail on the head. Reminds me of watercolors or something along those lines, gives the animation some extra charm and a unique aesthetic.
The Maul show looks so good. Can't wait to see it.
Cannot wait! This was a brilliant breakdown, thank you. I feel like I'm more ready now ❤️🖤
I can't wait for this show! I just want more Star Wars animation! It truly has been some of my favorite media of all time.
Before yesterday, I could just not be bothered to be hyped about this show. I couldn't wrap my head around why we were still in the early days of the Empire and not following Maul and Qi'ra after the events of Solo, and we also just didn't really have much information to go off of. I see the teaser yesterday and I'm pumped, I watched the trailer today and it looks great, I'm excited, I love what I'm seeing and April is a perfectly reasonable time to release the show, and then I found out it was only 10 episodes, and we were doing two a week. After over a year without a regular animated Star Wars show, come on man, we can't even get two months? I don't care if the show is serialized and I have to wait a week for the next installment, I've been doing that the past couple years on Turner Classic Movies with 15-20 minute long serials on Saturdays and it's been a blast, and I want to savor that with Star Wars animation. I'm still going to watch, but like, wouldn't you want people to stick around on your streaming service for more than a month? It's on viewers if they just want to wait until all the episodes are out but I'd love to talk more about the episodes one at a time as they come out. I find Star Wars to be at its best when animated, and Shadow Lord is no exception from what I've seen; I want it to have a longer lasting impact with the fanbase.
Aside from Andor and The Bad Batch, I haven’t really enjoyed most recent Star Wars projects, so I wasn’t expecting to feel excited for this series, but the trailer actually looks really promising! Here’s to hoping it ends up being as awesome as the teaser makes it look ❤
Hey Alex and Mollie, great breakdown! When do you think this show takes place in relation to the bad batch? We see TK troopers so I’d assume after S1, but could it be later? Between S2 and S3? Appearance of a class I Star Destroyer may be a clue..?
I’m with you on the release schedule and episode count. And the episodes people call “filler” I always see as universe building and enjoyable even if they don’t push the serial plot forward. “More” is always my preference. I just hope we don’t have to wait a couple years for the next season.
This trailer gave me chills!
Remember this: try
3:06 That just shows how George saw the EU as pool to explore ideas to expand the franchise and at the same time, a source of inspiration for potencial stories for his movies and shows. It was never absolute canon.
Action looks fantastic wicked! 🔥
So stoked!
Can’t for this series 😊
Fight the sith empire
Maul has a lot of time between Rebels and 19 BBY that can be readily expanded upon. The prequel and imperial eras still provide a rich substrate for stories. The characters from those two era’s are still popular besides being decades old. That being said I do hope we eventually get an animated Old Republic show equivalent to the TCW.
Wow, Maul looking for a new apprentise. Never seem that before. 🤗
Excited for this series. Trailer looks great. Love Star Wars Animation. Appreciate the breakdown.
Notice the black protocol droid head in between the Gran gangster and his rivals? 0-0-0 on screen debut??
Elder Gen X’er standing next to you also yelling at those damn clouds…
So is this different twilek apprentice than in the comic?
I think we're seeing two different versions of Devon. The red and black are just tattoos and that is true for Maul and Talon in Legacy too but this leans HEAVILY into the writing George did for his sequels.
10:06 I also miss “filler episodes.” I watch something because I like the characters. I want to hang out with the characters more, see how they react to some absurd scenarios instead of full speed ahead from beginning to end.
Also, “filler” episodes sometimes allow the show or character to add to its depth in unexpected and unseen ways too. People tend to think of filler episodes as throwaways, but some of the best episodes of shows are/were “fillers”.
@VulcanerdI agree. The term filler is thrown around so easily now. People have not known true filler unless they’ve watched something like OG Dragonball Z when there are full episodes where nothing happens. No memorable lines, no great action, no character moments or exploration that’s a true filler episode.
"Banger" that's my word! I always say not every show has to be a Banger 😎
I hope, if they do further seasons, we'll explore Crimson Dawn. Explore how he lost power, too. We'll see. I wasn't sold on Bad Batch originally and it was phenomenal.