Maul: Shadow Lord Star Sam Witwer Reveals Audiences Will Learn Why Maul Stayed Loyal To Palpatine

The Star Wars franchise is chock afloat of breathtaking animated projects that bash an fantabulous occupation of expanding the immense and beloved live-action beingness established by George Lucas backmost successful 1977 with Star Wars: A New Hope. But it looks similar fans tin expect astatine slightest 1 much animated bid to adhd to the premix successful Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord, which was conscionable announced astatine Star Wars Celebration Japan. Voice histrion Sam Witwer, who has voiced Maul successful each of his animated appearances implicit the years, opened up to IGN astir processing the task during an exclusive interrogation retired of the festival.

Witwer, who volition prima arsenic Darth Maul successful this caller series, revealed to IGN not lone wherever Shadow Lord falls successful the wide Star Wars timeline, but besides Maul’s headspace astatine this constituent successful the story.

“It takes spot a twelvemonth aft the Clone Wars person ended, and Maul is successful a precise challenging place, due to the fact that the radical that helium had astir him, a batch of them scattered oregon betrayed him during the Clone Wars. So we're dealing with a feline who is trying to fig retired well, my God, what is my purpose? Maul, you person to remember, is simply a classically trained unit user, a classically trained Sith,” Witwer explained.

“He comes from a clip of magic, knights, passion, enthusiasm, aggression, occurrence – magic. Now helium is seeing an empire that helium knew was coming, and the magic and the colour is being sucked retired of the universe. How does helium consciousness astir that? Did helium spot that that was going to beryllium the mode that it was? Is this antithetic than what helium expected and however does helium consciousness that affects him? What does helium wanna bash astir it? Can helium bash thing astir it? He's not precise equipped close now. So this is simply a feline who's trying to fig retired what his destiny is.”

Witwer besides noted that Maul’s position astatine this constituent was shaped by his upbringing. “Something else, helium was trained his full beingness to hatred and termination Jedi, and helium killed much Jedi than radical were alert of successful the Clone Wars. You know, determination [were] indications that [he] and Savage Opress went disconnected connected a rampage arsenic well. It was worse than you think. And present they’re gone. How does helium consciousness astir the Jedi, his sworn force – however does helium consciousness astir them present that they are gone? You know? All of these things, truthful we're challenging this perspective. So what is his destiny? What is who is helium without his top force to combat and destroy? And helium learns that possibly portion of his destiny is to animate a young person; bid an apprentice.”

Unfortunately, the lone tidbit Witwer would stock astir the mysterious apprentice is that she is simply a “very surprising” character. “I can't archer you that overmuch more,” helium teased. “But she's rather something.”

Witwer, who is besides well-known for past roles successful Battlestar Galactica and Smallville, has stepped into a improvement relation with this project, and it seems to person proven fruitful to enactment straight with Lucasfilm CCO Dave Filoni. “Dave has ever been precise collaborative, wonderfully collaborative successful fact, and this one, they were like, well, listen, you've been playing this quality for 15 years,” the dependable histrion revealed. “So, you person to beryllium successful this deeper than you've ever been before, due to the fact that we request you to measurement successful connected stuff, we request to person radical to statement these things. So it's been benignant of thrilling successful that way, having changeless telephone calls and emails and discussions. and it’s been educational.”

The histrion has done a batch of enactment connected Maul’s arc, which helium opened up astir from his “death” successful The Phantom Menace to resurfacing during Clone Wars and his last showdown with Obi-Wan Kenobi successful Star Wars Rebels. “Well, if we're processing this section it's important to reappraisal each of that accusation and ticker it person than we ever have, due to the fact that we indispensable larn caller things astir this quality oregon it’s not worthy excessively much,” Witwer told IGN successful Japan. “Looking astatine those erstwhile works, I've ever had a batch of questions astir this character. There were things that the assemblage I haven't seen them prime up connected yet but that I consciousness are truly worthy talking about. For example, wherefore did Maul ne'er springiness up Palpatine?”

And wherefore didn’t he, then? Witwer made it a constituent to delve into the realities of this question. “You person a amusement wherever the Jedi are like, ‘We cognize that determination is idiosyncratic named Darth Sidious. We cognize that helium is manipulating things, and we're trying to fig retired who this is, who is the Sith lord. Maul done each those years knows precisely who the Sith lord is; helium could spell to a telephone booth, telephone up the Jedi and say, ‘It's Palpatine’ and bent up the telephone and truly screw Palpatine's plans. He ne'er does that. Why? Why doesn't helium crook connected Palpatine?”

He added, “The lone infinitesimal helium yet decides, OK, I'm gonna crook connected Palpatine is astatine the precise end, close earlier the satellite ends, Order 66 and the Clone Wars end, helium becomes truthful freaked retired that successful a desperation helium reaches retired to Ahsoka Tano. But Palpatine has caused truthful overmuch suffering for this guy. Palpatine took distant Savage Opress. Palpatine killed his family. Palpatine took distant his mother. Palpatine showed nary loyalty to Maul, and the infinitesimal Maul recovered loyalty successful Savage Opress, helium took that from him. So what is it? Why did Maul support this loyalty? What is it astir that character? What is it astir Maul that we are learning from things similar that?”

For Witwer and the squad processing this project, Maul’s past is important to who helium is successful the present. “These are the types of questions that I person been asking for years, and successful this show, we get to make stories astir them. I mean, not flashbacks – we don't virtually archer these stories, but determination are aspects of that quality that person not been explored, traits that that quality has that radical wouldn't deliberation helium has, due to the fact that he's antithetic than Palpatine,” the histrion explained.

“Palpatine is simply a 10 retired of 10 mythic villain – he's arsenic atrocious arsenic you get. Maul is not that. If you ticker The Clone Wars precise closely, helium does not termination unnecessarily. I'm saying excessively much. He's a bad, atrocious feline successful this show, but our amusement is atrocious guys versus worse guys. So Maul is each spot arsenic atrocious arsenic helium was before, successful immoderate ways adjacent worse.”

Bad guys turned worse? Sounds similar our cupful of tea! This bid is evidently inactive successful development, which means we’re acold disconnected from a merchandise day astatine this constituent — but for now, we tin imagination astir however slayer it seems similar it volition be.

Lex Briscuso is simply a movie and tv professional and a freelance amusement writer for IGN. You tin travel her connected Twitter astatine @nikonamerica.