Most of the time, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Palpatine don’t have anything in common given… well, anyone who’s watched the Star Wars movies knows why. However, one thing they do share is Maul’s hatred. The former Sith Lord who killed Qui-Gon Jinn has drastically different reasons for holding them with as much contempt as possible. However, when it comes to Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord, which just premiered on the 2026 TV schedule, Sam Witwer, Maul’s voice actor, explained why he’s “obsessing over” Palpatine more than Obi-Wan in the Disney+ subscription-exclusive series.
The critically-acclaimed Shadow Lord takes place one year after the end of the Clone Wars and rise of the Empire, when Maul is attempting to rebuild his criminal syndicate that collapsed in The Clone Wars TV show’s final episodes. During my interview with Sam Witwer and Gideon Adlon, who voices Order 66 survivor Devon Izara, I asked Witwer whether Palpatine or Obi-Wan was his favorite antagonistic dynamic with Maul. The actor explained why the former is more important to him at this stage of his character’s life, saying:
