Maul – Shadow Lord isn't just bringing Maul back to our screens. The Star Wars show also sees the return of Marrok, the mysterious Inquisitor introduced in Ahsoka.
When Marrok first graced our screens, he was a mercenary working for Morgan Elsbeth, and he sparked a frenzy of fan theories. Predictions included the masked figure actually being Ezra Bridger in disguise (this one turned out to be false), Galen Marek's introduction to canon, or Marrok actually being just… Marrok.
Shadow Lord is set before Ahsoka on the Star Wars timeline, however, meaning we see Marrok as a fully fledged Inquisitor in the new show. While we glimpsed him briefly in Tales of the Empire, this is the first time we'll see the First Brother properly unleashed in the Imperial era.
We sat down with Maul – Shadow Lord's supervising director Brad Rau, writer Matt Michnovetz, and executive producer Athena Yvette Portillo to talk about the show – and why Marrok was the right Inquisitor to return.
"I mean, he's awesome. He's so cool, and performed by our buddy, A.J. LoCascio, and A.J. is so good," explains Rau. "And, to be a foil for Maul.
"We talked a lot about [how] we wanted these Inquisitors to be as creepy as possible, creepier than we've ever seen them: horrifying, in fact. And, A.J. certainly gives us a lot of that in his performance. And the way that we blocked Marrok in particular, if you notice, he moves really slowly, like a horror monster, and then he moves really fast, also like some kind of apparition. And so we just played with all of that fun stuff. It's just too much fun."
"He fits perfectly with the story we wanted to tell," adds Michnovetz, with Portillo agreeing: "It's the level of intimidation and threat that he brings to the table."
In the show, Marrok is tasked by the Empire with investigating sightings of Maul on the planet Janix, and we know from the trailers that the duo will clash blades. And, Marrok isn't the only Inquisitor returning, with the Eleventh Brother also revealed in the trailers released so far. How that all plays out is anyone's guess, but we can expect it to be explosive…
Maul – Shadow Lord starts streaming on Disney Plus this April 6, with two episodes released a week until May 4 (AKA Star Wars Day). Keep track with our Maul – Shadow Lord release schedule.
In the meantime, 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 catch up on Maul's story with our roundup of how to watch The Clone Wars in order – unless you're pressed for time, in which case, see the episodes on our what to watch before Maul – Shadow Lord explainer.
