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The first trailer for Maul – Shadow Lord has been released and, suffice to say, it looks absolutely great. That shouldn’t come as any real shock, of course: the franchise has had a strong handle on this character in the animated landscape through the likes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, and this is clearly a continuation of that level of storytelling and character work. At the same time, it’s still worth saying, because things have perhaps even been taken up a level.
That’s certainly true in the new animation style for the show, which is simply stunning. It’s extremely stylized, by practical brush strokes being used and then captured on film, which gives it the effect of an oil painting in some shots, making it all look so rich and atmospheric. There was already a high bar, but Maul has never looked better on-screen, and that’s important given where the franchise is at.
Maul – Shadow Lord Just Showed How To Market A New Star Wars Release
Almost exactly 13 years ago, in The Clone Wars Season 5, Episode 15, “Shades of Reason,” (released on January 26th, 2013), Maul famously took control of Mandalore, defeating Pre Viszla to become the rightful owner of the Darksaber. Now, all these years later, he’s defeating a different kind of Mandalorian. That is, The Mandalorian & Grogu, which will also release in 2026 as the first new Star Wars movie since 2019.
Unfortunately, as exciting as that should be, Lucasfilm has thus far failed to market it as such. The Mandalorian and Grogu trailer did little to capture the imagination or spark anticipation for the movie; indeed, it was quite the opposite. The footage divided Star Wars fans, with criticism over its lack of plot intrigue and the fact that it just looks like another episode of the TV show (and more damningly, that it looks made for streaming, not the big screen).
