With the “Star Wars” galaxy now below the management of Lucasfilm president and former animator Dave Filoni, it’s solely becoming that his period’s first output is an animated sequence that he created a couple of legacy fan-favorite character. That, in fact, being Darth Maul, the thorn-riddled, red-and-black former Sith Lord (voiced by Sam Witwer) whose slicing defeat and subsequent journey to regaining his energy (and a brand new set of legs again) through the Clone Conflict period left followers wanting extra. Filoni’s spin-off “Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord,” made to lastly reply how he rose again to energy through the Empire’s early years, is as entertaining as it may be.
Nonetheless, it additionally perpetuates my fears about Filoni and this new period of “Star Wars.”
“Shadow Lord” picks up one 12 months after the Clone Wars, following the activation of Order 66 and the Empire’s occupation throughout the galaxy. The story takes place on Janix, a gray-paletted, neon-urbanized planet the place the Empire has not but arrived, however crime lords run rampant via a shadowy underbelly.
Maul, now a mob-boss-like chief of the felony gang often called the Shadow Collective, works stealthily to rise again into energy as a lord, first by looking for vengeance towards those that wronged him. Whereas raiding Janix’s native jail in pursuit of revenge on crime lord Looti Vario (Chris Diamantopoulos), Maul force-senses Devon (Gideon Adlon), a scrappy, dispossessed Twi’lek Jedi Padawan. Maul takes her in and, while engaged on his revenge plan, tries to include one other plan by convincing the not sure Jedi of her powers, in hopes of creating her his apprentice.
In the meantime, an overworked native detective, Brander Lawson (a implausible Wagner Moura), tries to maintain order in Janix, hoping the Empire by no means touches down. His spouse has separated from him and now works for the Empire, leaving Lawson to lift his teenage son, Rylee (Charlie Bushnell), whereas balancing work and fatherhood. However on the very least, he has the loyal, law-abiding, boot-fitted droid Two-Boots (an always-charming Richard Ayoade). When Devon’s Jedi Grasp, Eeko-Dio-Daki (Dennis Haysbert), asks Lawson for assist discovering his lacking protégé, the detective springs into motion and begins monitoring Devon.
Animation has at all times been hit-or-miss for “Star Wars,” a minimum of when made in-house at Lucasfilm. However “Shadow Lord” is visually the most effective the studio has produced up to now. The acquainted blocky character designs have been up to date with mild cel-shaded textures that complement the luxurious, watercolor-painted backdrops of its retro, neon-soaked metropolis. The artwork route and even the detailing appear partly impressed by “Arcane” and “RoboCop,” including a slight steampunk aptitude to the underworld that makes the visuals pop. Whereas motion and expression can nonetheless really feel barely stilted, the present comes alive throughout snappy, kinetic motion sequences which are superbly animated and enjoyable—feeling as cinematic as, and arguably extra so than, a few of its live-action characteristic counterparts.
Throughout the eight episodes out of the ten offered for evaluate, it takes an extended whereas for “Maul” to get attention-grabbing. The sequence is clearly made for Clone Wars die-hards who particularly wished to see the previous Sith Lord adapt to the Empire’s new world order.
Although I’m not deeply well-versed within the dense mythology of the “Star Wars” universe, particularly relating to Maul himself, I appreciated how the present firmly vegetation attention-grabbing new characters—particularly Moura’s Lawson. His twin plot of attempting to keep up order whereas harboring a sheer disdain for the Empire made for a fascinating time, particularly when the inevitable occurs.
Nonetheless, Maul suffers from a serious drawback: it offers no attention-grabbing depth for the titular character. He principally features as a puppeteer, at all times one step forward of his oppressors with a crafty, smug look and dialogue. The sequence fails to make the execution of his plan attention-grabbing as a result of there are not any actual obstacles till the plot conveniently requires them a lot later. The present solely exacerbates that by showcasing his basic difficulty—he’s not a lot of an attention-grabbing character past his insane aura.
There’s an attention-grabbing thought in his try to corrupt Devon, a impartial however good-hearted Padawan with considerably inconsistent characterization, into turning into his new apprentice. Witwer and Adlon have nice voice chemistry, and you’ll really feel Adlon’s battle as Devon navigates her scenario. However the writing is so involved with sustaining Maul’s sinister persona that it provides no perception into what’s occurring with him internally—particularly given the timeline’s concentrate on a brand new political regime he as soon as swore his coronary heart to. The present doesn’t even showcase any battle, like a battle to keep up his mercenaries’ belief whereas maybe bonding with Devon.
To be honest, “Shadow Lord” is an exciting romp that provides a minimum of a couple of respectable new characters —all bolstered by an distinctive voice forged who convey full of life spirit to the challenge. That mentioned, its stable, kinetic nature restricts it from taking any possibilities. None of that depth is absolutely current till the again half, the place the present begins to sense the Pressure and provides some stable character work for the titular lead.
That is one thing I’ve felt has plagued a few of Filoni’s earlier initiatives, and it fuels my fears for the long run. It typically appears like taking part in with toys in a chest—extra thinking about sustaining followers’ notion of a personality than in exploring them in depth. Particularly after the sharp “Andor”—a present he reportedly disliked—offered deeper perception into its huge set of characters who’ve been launched for not even a full decade at this level. Whereas Maul’s popcorn storytelling works effectively for animation and serves Clone Wars followers properly, I do hope this method doesn’t carry over into future live-action initiatives, the place servicing followers may take precedence over taking daring new swings on this huge universe.
Perhaps this younger Padawan wants endurance to see what the long run holds. However proper now, “Maul” is a stable begin—only one that leaves me with a little bit trepidation and concern.
Eight episodes of ten screened for evaluate. New episodes air Mondays on Disney+.
