Darth Maul was the one of most mysterious and remarkable additions to Star Wars when Episode I brought the saga back after a 16-year cinematic hiatus. The devilish looking villain was the Sith apprentice to Palpatine in The Phantom Menace; quickly becoming a huge fan-favorite due to the way his taciturn nature was overcompensated by his inconceivable lightsaber skills, at that circa-2000s period in Star Wars history. He was so idolized as a villain that George Lucas and Dave Filoni decided to bring him back from the dead.
Not exactly “resurrected”, Maul’s reinstatement in The Clone Wars animated series was planned with care and after a meticulously paced build-up process, his brother finds him still recovering from his thought-to-be fatal injuries many years after Obi-Wan cut him in half. His revival transpires all the way at the end of Season 4. The fifth year allocates a key arc for Maul and Savage Opress, bringing Maul to take over a faction of the Mandalorian group Death Watch, only to be captured by Palpatine, who also kills his brother.
The Clone Wars excitingly ends with a Maul-centric storyline. He escapes confinement, reclaims followers on Mandalore and has another epic-duel against a Jedi – Ahsoka defeats the foe, but spares his life. The three main characters featured in the finale are Ahsoka, Maul and Rex. A connected follow-up to The Clone Wars came in the form of The Bad Batch, which continued Rex’s narrative. Ahsoka is revisited often in later Star Wars tales, but Maul is excluded from this post-Order 66 time period. Now, his titular series, Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, takes place roughly around the same time, if not slightly after the events of The Bad Batch. But where does it fit in overall?
Currently, this is how the Star Wars timeline (in chronological order) lines up:
- The Acolyte
- Tales of the Jedi - Life and Death and Justice
- Tales of the Underworld - The Good Life
- Tales of the Jedi -Choices
- Tales of the Underworld - A Good Turn and One Good Deed
- The Phantom Menace
- Tales of the Jedi - The Sith Lord
- Attack of the Clones
- The Clone Wars - Seasons 1-4
- Tales of the Empire - The Path of Fear
- The Clone Wars - Seasons 5-7
- Tales of the Jedi - Practice Makes Perfect
- Revenge of the Sith
- Tales of the Empire - Devoted
- Tales of the Jedi - Resolve
- The Bad Batch
- Tales of the Underworld - A Way Forward, Friends, and One Warrior to Another
- Tales of the Empire - Realization
- Maul - Shadow Lord
- Solo
- Obi-Wan Kenobi
- Tales of the Empire - The Way Out
- Andor - Season 1
- Rebels - Seasons 1-2
- Tales of the Empire - The Path of Anger
- Rebels - Seasons 3-4
- Andor - Season 2
- Rogue One
- A New Hope
- The Empire Strikes Back
- Return of the Jedi
- Skeleton Crew
- The Mandalorian - Season 1
- Tales of the Empire - The Path of Hate
- The Mandalorian - Season 2
- The Book of Boba Fett
- The Mandalorian - Season 3
- Ahsoka
- Resistance - Season 1
- The Force Awakens
- The Last Jedi
- Resistance - Season 2
- The Rise of Skywalker
What fans of the movies and shows already have watched, prior to Maul –Shadow Lord, is that the villain becomes the leader of a major crime organization. This series offers a first-hand account of how he seeks out his revenge on those in the Shadow Collective who went against him and sets him on a path to assume control over the entire criminal empire. During the feature film Solo: A Star Wars Story, Dryden Vos appeared to be the head of Crimson Dawn, only for a surprise cameo to unveil that Maul is the true crime boss.
With limited time in Star Wars Rebels, Maul quickly has a huge impact by blinding Kanan when he first re-appears in the Season 2 climax. The former Sith lord has an almost enigmatic presence throughout the third year, culminating his chronicles in one of the best episodes in Star Wars animation history, “Twin Suns”. This is where the rematch between Obi-Wan and Maul marks the end of the Dathomirian’s life, with his Jedi rival offering grace and respect for a worthy opponent and a fellow force-wielder.
With the newest animated show, Maul – Shadow Lord gives Star Wars fans yet another chance to witness the spectacular sword-play of one of the best sci-fi villains, as well as the return of wonderful voice actor Sam Witwer. It also provides more context surrounding Maul’s escalation to the top of the criminal food chain, detailing important plot-points that occur after his time in The Clone Wars and before he re-emerges in Solo and Rebels.
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