Every Darth Maul Movie & Show To Watch Before 'Shadow Lord'
Darth Maul has been a fan favorite since the moment he debuted in the Star Wars franchise, but his upcoming starring role in Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord (2026) will work better if you know everything the character has been up to. Debuting in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) as the apprentice of overarching villain Palpatine, Maul was a villainous opposite to Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn. Played by Ray Park and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz, Maul was one of the few elements of the prequel that was largely embraced by an otherwise conflicted fanbase.
Despite his apparent death at the end of Phantom Menace, Maul has returned in several canon Star Wars films and shows, now played by Sam Witwer. These shows, set between the events of the original movies and the prequel trilogy, steadily reveal Maul as a more complex character, whose impact on the galaxy can be felt on multiple levels. Before diving into Maul - Shadow Lord, here are all the Star Wars movies and TV shows featuring Darth Maul. Find them on Disney+ now.
Maul serves as the primary threat of The Phantom Menace, the first movie of the prequel trilogy. Although the movie suffers from a bloated second act and unnecessary diversions, Phantom Menace features some pretty memorable moments and distinct characters, with Maul chief among them. The almost silent Sith warrior is a stark contrast to Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor’s Jedi masters.
While there isn’t much to the character in this form beyond “Sith assassin,” Ray Park brings an engaging energy to the character that enhances the impressive visual design George Lucas and his team crafted. It’s something the actor excels at, considering he did something similar with Toad in X-Men (2000). Darth Maul is blunt in this portrayal, but it’s no wonder the character struck a chord with audiences.
Solo: A Star Wars Story isn’t really a Darth Maul story, with the Sith warrior never formally appearing in the main plot. However, the events of this movie are important to keep in mind, as they factor into the time period that Maul - Shadow Lord will explore. One of the final scenes in the film sees Emilia Clarke’s Qi’ra reach out to the head of her criminal syndicate, the Crimson Dawn. This turns out to be Maul, making his cinematic return after 19 years. Informing him of the death of her superior and covering for Han’s escape, Qi’ra impresses Maul enough that he demands her presence on his world of Dathomir.
Clearly meant as a sequel tease, the mixed reception to Solo and a change in production at Lucasfilm meant this has been Maul’s only big-screen appearance since Phantom Menace. Still, it’s important to note this shared point in the timeline.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars did the brunt of the work in expanding on Darth Maul, turning him into a more complex character who never lost that villainous core that defined him from the beginning. After being teased in Season 3, Maul is discovered alive in Season 4 of the animated series. Restored by the following season, Maul becomes a powerful crimelord until his rise in power attracts the attention of his former master.
Along the way, Maul develops a tense animosity with Obi-Wan, which intersects with characters like Bo-Katan and artifacts like the Darksaber before they appeared on The Mandalorian (2019). The show develops Maul into an effective villain on his own, laying the groundwork for the concepts that will become more important in spinoffs like Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026).
As the sequel to Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels is a more focused show about a rag-tag bunch of misfits from around the galaxy who have become one of the first prominent groups of rebels. One of the show’s key arcs focuses on Ezra, a young Force-sensative boy who finds himself torn between his exiled Jedi mentor Kanan and Maul. This is another great example of Maul as a deeply complex character, who nevertheless remains focused on his core motivations of rage and hate.
This show also notably gives Maul a perfectly constructed farewell, explaining why he isn’t in the original films while also fitting neatly into the established canon. Arguably the most emotionally effective of Disney’s animated expansion shows for the larger Star Wars universe—not counting Star Wars: Visions (2021), which are all non-canon and are all definitely worth checking out— Rebels is a great final chapter for Maul.
That’s what makes Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord an interesting prospect from the onset. Maul’s full arc has already been explored, but the character’s history and connection to the underworld of the franchise give him plenty of room for even more thorough exploration. The idea of seeing Maul actually take on an apprentice is an inherently compelling one, especially after Rebels and The Acolyte (2024) teased that same sort of storyline but didn’t get to fully showcase it.
Putting Maul in the lead role also suggests that the show will be able to get a little darker than what most of the franchise usually gets to be. As potentially the final word on the character before the Star Wars franchise moves forward once again, Maul - Shadow Lord could end up laying more groundwork for future entries in the series.
