Maul's highly anticipated return in the new animated show Maul – Shadow Lord has debuted to an excellent reception, becoming one of the highest-rated Star Wars projects ever on Rotten Tomatoes.
The show currently stands at a perfect score of 100% from 25 reviews, meaning it has edged past Andor season 2's 97% (though from 212 reviews). Andor season 2 is the most critically acclaimed live-action Star Wars project ever, so this is no mean feat.
In fact, Shadow Lord currently holds the highest score of any Star Wars project aside from Tales of the Jedi and Tales of the Underworld, which both stand at a perfect 100% – and, while the overall score of The Clone Wars stands at 93% and Star Wars Rebels at 98%, there are some individual seasons (including The Clone Wars season 7) that also hold a shiny 100%, along with Volume 2 of Visions, and LEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales.
Our own Maul – Shadow Lord review awards the show four stars, with our verdict reading: "Maul – Shadow Lord is a visually stunning entry in the Lucasfilm Animation canon that explores the wrath and surprising vulnerability of one of Star Wars's most intriguing characters, with a brilliant vocal performance from Sam Witwer and a lively cast of supporting characters."
The show picks up after The Clone Wars and sees Maul, former leader of the Shadow Collective, attempting to rebuild his criminal empire… and recruit a young Twi'lek girl named Devon Izara as his apprentice.
"She's a teenager, and it's a type of situation where you've been groomed kind of through the Jedi Order," executive producer Athena Yvette Portillo told us recently of Devon. "Now, it's like, you have this opportunity to be educated in other elements. And so, if I was her, I too would feel kind of like, 'I want to know what's on the other side too, but I'm kind of like…' It's like a tug of war."
You can keep up to date on everything else the galaxy far, far away has in store with our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and shows, or see our rundown on how to watch The Clone Wars in order to catch up on Maul's story.
