A Dark Turn for a Familiar Villain
The idea of a Star Wars show centered on Darth Maul didn’t appeal to me at first. I was never one of the fans who were bewitched by the grim-looking, double-lightsaber-wielding Sith lord when he first appeared in 1999’s The Phantom Menace. Even when Maul returned from the dead with badass spider-robot legs in the animated series The Clone Wars, I wasn’t totally sold. The guy is cool and all, but a whole show dedicated to him? I was skeptical that Lucasfilm could pull it off.
I was wrong. Not only is Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord a stunning and compelling homage to the pulpy neo-noir genre set in a galaxy far, far away, but it also reaffirms what attracted fans to Darth Maul years ago: his relentless refusal to surrender in a galaxy where he’s destined to fail again and again.
Setting the Stage on Janix
Set shortly after Revenge of the Sith, Maul: Shadow Lord follows Maul (brilliantly portrayed, as always, by Sam Witwer) as he attempts to rebuild his criminal empire. After the Shadow Collective, an alliance of crime syndicates fell apart due to the threat of the nascent Empire, Maul finds himself with few allies and fewer resources. He needs to start over. Janix, a planet untouched by the Empire and Imperial control, is the perfect place.
It’s easy to compare Janix to a far more famous city-planet in Star Wars: Coruscant. But while darkness lurks on the lower levels of Coruscant, its vast, sprawling landscapes and impeccably designed buildings paint the planet as more of a symbol of stability and progress. Janix, on the other hand, is dark and drab, even in the daylight. It feels more vibrant and alive at night, as if to show how much of the planet is controlled by gangs and mobsters. Its city streets are lit up by gunfire and police speeders, shadows intensified by whispered threats and backroom deals. If Coruscant is Metropolis, then Janix is Gotham through and through.
A Crime Drama Full of Intrigue
It’s this inherent darkness of Janix — a civilization built up from a literal crater — that makes it such a fantastic playground for Maul. Alongside the remnants of the Death Watch Mandalorians and Nightbrothers loyal to him, Maul seeks to consolidate power. The result is that those who abandoned him to seek favor with the Empire (namely, his old gangster buddies) are pitted against each other. While they scurry around and blame one another, Maul is a menacing shadow that watches it all with satisfaction. His machinations against the syndicates resemble a typical gangster noir film, right along with classic gumshoe characters like weary Janix police captain Brander Lawson (Wagner Moura) and his partner, Two-Boots (Richard Ayoade), a well-meaning but protocol-driven droid.