Inside the Making of Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord 

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.