While Maul – Shadow Lord is set to explore the titular former Sith Lord's attempts to claw back his criminal empire, it also involves an intriguing dynamic between Maul and a Twi'lek Jedi Padawan named Devon Izara.
Devon survived Order 66 along with her Master, Eeko-Dio Daki. Maul is out to recruit Devon as his apprentice, and, though we've seen Maul allied with his brother Savage Oppress in The Clone Wars, and attempting to corrupt Ezra Bridger in Star Wars Rebels (which is set after Shadow Lord on the Star Wars timeline), his dynamic with Devon feels like something all new.
"We wanted to create a fresh and unique perspective and a new character that interacts with Maul in ways that we hadn't seen, who is challenged by a very difficult time period in the galaxy and forced to adapt and faced with these temptations," Shadow Lord writer Matt Michnovetz tells GamesRadar+. "And, essentially, if you look at the character of Devon throughout the adventure, it's that she's got a devil on one side of her shoulder and then Daki on the other, basically. So, it gives her these temptations that she must make choices."
Daki certainly does complicate things, as Devon isn't alone after Order 66 – which might have made Maul's attempts to draw her to his side easier.
"Yeah, that's part of it," says supervising director Brad Rau, of whether Daki being at Devon's side makes her less vulnerable to Maul. "And it's like what Matty was just saying, that idea of different points of view, an angel and a devil on her shoulder, created really interesting challenges and opportunities for us to get into her character. So, yeah, that was all very intentional."
But Devon isn't entirely closed off to the possibility of joining Maul. "She's a teenager, and it's a type of situation where you've been groomed kind of through the Jedi Order," says executive producer Athena Yvette Portillo. "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."
Most intriguingly of all, Lucasfilm president – and Shadow Lord creator – Dave Filoni has said that the show honors some of George Lucas's unused plans for Maul. Though Filoni didn't specify what these plans were, Lucas has said before that his sequel trilogy ideas saw Maul ruling over the galaxy's criminal underworld and working with a Twi'lek apprentice named Talon. Fans noticed the similarity with Shadow Lord immediately.
Naturally, though, the Shadow Lord creatives are tight-lipped on this particular subject. "We can't give away too much," says Rau. "We have heard a lot of the fan theories and speculations, and we are fascinated by them. We'll just put it at that, leave it at that."
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, catch up on Maul's story with our roundup of how to watch The Clone Wars in order – or for a more streamlined list, see the episodes on our what to watch before Maul – Shadow Lord explainer.
