Learn behind-the-scenes stories, trivia, and fascinating facts from the team behind the new animated series.
You don’t have to know anything about Star Wars or even Maul to get into Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, the new animated series on Disney+. “All you really need to understand is that this is a story about a guy who has been wronged by a bunch of people and he wants payback,” says Head Writer Matthew Michnovetz.
But inside the writers room, the team crafting this pulpy noir wanted to know literally everything they could about Maul, down to every person who’s crossed him. That meant working out his kill list to include in the show bible.
Beyond Obi-Wan Kenobi, they’re mum on the details. However, Supervising Director Brad Rau, Michnovetz, and Lore Executive Matt Martin have shared interesting stories and other bits of trivia from the creation of the series.
Read on to learn about this week’s installment, and come back next Monday for even more fun facts.
Episodes 101 and 102
1. Much of Maul - Shadow Lord is set on the world of Janix, a new location created for the series. A Mid Rim planet largely beneath the Empire's notice, the world features a large metropolis built into an ancient crater surrounded by a vast, overgrown jungle.
2. Rook Kast was first seen in the comic book series Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir, which was based on unproduced scripts of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. She made her on-screen debut in The Clone Wars Season 7 episode "Old Friends Not Forgotten."
3. Rounding out Maul's crew are a pair of Dathomirian Nightbrothers and a group of Mandalorian Supercommandos — two factions with deep ties to Maul's history. Maul himself was born a Nightbrother before beginning his Sith training. Many years later, Maul would utilize his close ties to the Death Watch splinter group of Mandalorians to gain control of Mandalore.
4. The acronym TDF can be seen on some officer uniforms, denoting members of the Tactical Defense Force. TDF is a special unit within the Janix Civil Defense, the organization that oversees all law enforcement and peacekeeping on the planet.
5. During development, Eeko-Dio Daki was lovingly referred to as "Dino Jedi" before being given his official name. He’s also a new species called a Mosyk.
6. When Daki begs a citizen for help, they reply with "e chu ta,” a rude Huttese phrase first uttered in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.
7. Two-Boots is voiced by prolific British comedian and Travel Man Richard Ayoade. This is Ayoade's second droid character in the Star Wars galaxy; he previously voiced Q9-0, or “Zero,” in The Mandalorian.
8. We frequently see a "droid's eye view" perspective when Spybot is snooping, a POV rarely seen in Star Wars media.
9. The meal served to Looti Vario and Deemis at their meeting in the warehouse is inspired by the classic Italian dish chicken parmigiana served up at writer meetings held at Dan Tana’s in West Hollywood. “When you see Vario cutting into it and the way the cheese pulls, that was not easy to do, but it's great,” Head Writer Matthew Michnovetz says.
10. Actor Sam Witwer drew lines on his face to approximate Maul’s markings during a session providing live animation reference to the artists on the series at Lucasfilm headquarters in San Francisco. “We wanted to get as much nuance into the animation as possible,” says Supervising Director Brad Rau. “He's such a great on-screen actor in the booth. Some of the things he did were inspirational for sure. He has no hesitation. He's fearlessly, perfectly Maul all the time.”
11. Among the noir films referenced in this series, Michnovetz named Heat (1995) as a source of inspiration for the pulpy cat-and-mouse detective storyline.
12. The city on Janix is inspired in part by Batman’s Gotham, a sprawling metropolis with a dark underbelly. “What's under the crater? What's at the edge of the crater? What's beyond the crater?” Michnovetz asks. “Despite the Metropolis/Gotham/noir DNA of it, there's also this weird kind of subtle threat of the frontier beyond what is on the outside of this city.”
13. The fruit cart vendor is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, a longtime Star Wars cast member who voiced the clones in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Clone Force 99 in Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Originally, his wares were going to be meilooruns, but the fruit also seen in Star Wars Rebels would be too large for Devon Izara to easily conceal.
14. Brander Lawson’s work keeps him busy, as evidenced by instant noodle containers and pizza-like boxes littering the family kitchen. “He’s a better detective than he is a dad,” Michnovetz says.
15. Maul returns carrying a red blade, with a hilt designed after his lightsaber lost during the Siege of Mandalore. According to filmmakers, the idea was that Rook Kast and other loyalists had returned for the relic, which has been slightly modified but is essentially the same weapon.
16. There’s a running gag that Captain Brander Lawson almost always has a cup of caf in his hand or nearby. If you look closely, you can count the discarded cups in his home and at his workstation. “We wanted there to be this realistic aspect to him and the police force, so you'll notice he's drinking caf all the time,” Rau says. “Every once in awhile you get a shot on his desk and if you look closely, there's six cups on his desk and then we'll cut to him in his speeder and he's drinking another caf in his speeder. He gets home and he's drinking more.”
“Also model that to the writers room,” Michnovetz jokes.
17. Befitting the series’ film noir-inspired tone, Rheena Sul was initially envisioned as Maul - Shadow Lord's answer to the classic "femme fatale" archetype.
18. Rylee is introduced wearing his botekin uniform and surrounded by various gear including a padded helmet and hooked instrument similar to a lacrosse stick. Rylee wears number 6 on the field.
19. Rheena Sul's office features a unique aquarium, something often seen behind powerful gangsters in crime films and serving as a visual metaphor for power, control, and character personality.
20. Bright neon signs are commonplace around Janix and feature advertisements for "The Best Blurrger in Town," "The Finest Refined Hyperfuel in the Galaxy," and more.
Episodes 103 and 104
1. Not long after he escaped from his exile on Lotho Minor, Maul was introduced to cassius tea by Death Watch leader Pre Viszla, who believed the tea was good for one's health. Years later, he shares the tea with Devon Izara.
2. Maul references losing his brother and his mother in this episode. His brother, Savage Opress, is killed by Palpatine in The Clone Wars Season 5 episode "The Lawless" and Mother Talzin in the Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir comic, which was based on unproduced episodes of The Clone Wars.
3. The design of the Pyke species in Maul - Shadow Lord is a hybrid of their live-action look seen in The Book of Boba Fett and their original, more stylized design created for The Clone Wars.
4. The large stadium where Rylee plays botekin is a rare glimpse at team sports in Star Wars. Other team sports include: Huttball, a playable game in the Star Wars: The Old Republic video game; grav-ball, originally from the Servants of the Empire series of middle-grade novels; and limmie, which first appeared in the 1994 novel The Crystal Star.
5. Marg Krim has been the leader of the Pyke Syndicate since the death of Lom Pyke in The Clone Wars Season 6 episode "The Lost One." The Illustrious Imperator has an updated design in Maul - Shadow Lord.
6. Krim threatens to feed Vario's remains to his "nexu horde," a reference to the vicious cat-like creature made famous in the arena battle from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.
7. The whisper-hiss sound that often accompanied Maul's appearance in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace can be heard briefly as Maul speaks to Devon.
8. The game of botekin has some lacrosse and jai alai influences and although we never see the game in action, creators figured out the rules of the game for reference.
The age of Maul has begun with two new episodes premiering weekly every Monday at 12 a.m. PT only on Disney+.
