There’s a world where Darth Maul’s story ended in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace… you know, which is what usually happens when someone gets cut in half. In our world, though, Maul survived Obi-Wan Kenobi’s bisection and has continued to thrive in many other Star Wars stories. The latest of the bunch is the Disney+ subscription-exclusive series Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord, which premieres on the 2026 TV schedule next week. And yet, despite the popularity he’s enjoyed for nearly 30 years, the Shadow Lord executive producers opened up to CinemaBlend about why it’s difficult to give Maul his own upcoming Star Wars TV show.
During my interview with EPs Athena Yvette Portillo, Brad Rau and Matt Michnovetz, with the latter two serving as Supervising Director and Head Writer, respectively, I asked them if it’s challenging at all crafting a TV show around Maul to paint him a protagonist light without losing his core dark traits. Rau responded with the following:
