Maul – Shadow Lord episode 8 connects the Star Wars show to Solo in a big way

Maul – Shadow Lord is charting Maul's rampage through the galaxy far, far away's criminal underworld, after his fall from grace at the end of The Clone Wars.

One of the key details in his story, though, is that Maul has a surprise cameo in Solo: A Star Wars Story that reveals he does eventually regain power in the underworld. Naturally, then, Maul – Shadow Lord is laying some of the groundwork for this moment, particularly in episode 8.

Below, we've broken down how Maul – Shadow Lord connects to Solo: A Star Wars story, so you can get up to speed. Beware, though, the following contains spoilers for Shadow Lord, so, if you're not up to date, come back later. For more, check out our spoiler-free Maul – Shadow Lord review.

How does Maul – Shadow Lord connect to Solo?

Near the end of the episode, when Maul returns to his crew, we learn that Dryden Vos is requesting an audience with the ex-Sith Lord. Vos apparently reached out to Vario, who passed the message on.

Cast your mind back to Solo: A Star Wars Story, and you might remember that Paul Bettany's Dryden Vos is the face of the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate. Right at the end of Solo, Maul is revealed to be leader of Crimson Dawn, operating in the shadows. Solo is set after Shadow Lord on the Star Wars timeline, meaning Maul is going to end up as the Crimson Dawn boss sometime in his future.

Crimson Dawn were members of the Shadow Collective, Maul's collection of crime syndicates during the Clone Wars. This mysterious communication from Vos, then, seems to be setting up a bridge between the events of Shadow Lord and Maul's ascendancy in Solo.

So far in Shadow Lord, Maul has managed to claw back a fair amount of his underworld legitimacy, so it wouldn't be surprising if Crimson Dawn are willingly re-joining his cause, and that Maul might walk away from their meeting their new leader. But, the fact that Vario is involved might also mean that a betrayal is being cooked up – though we know it won't work, thanks to Solo.

You can keep up to date with our Maul – Shadow Lord release schedule. To catch up on Maul's story, see our guide on how to watch The Clone Wars in order.