Maul - Shadow Lord Has Some Big Parallels To A Canceled Star Wars Series

"Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord" feels like a natural next step in the larger animated Star Wars project — pushing the visual style farther than it's ever gone before, embracing a shorter format more comparable to shows like "Tales of the Jedi," and of course, centering on Maul himself, who's practically become the mascot of the animated Star Wars shows. Watching the dynamic choreography and absolutely staggering lighting, you can really feel the collected expertise at Lucasfilm Animation brought to bear. But at the same time, the show is more aligned thematically with one of the franchise's live-action outings on Disney+ — a series canceled before its time.

We're talking, of course, about "Star Wars: The Acolyte." Yes, "The Acolyte" had plenty of problems, from questionable production values to an opening batch of episodes that turned many viewers off before the absolute bangers in the show's second half. Perhaps nothing could have saved it from cancellation, but as time has gone on, it's much easier to remember what was great about the show and forget the less-than-great. (And for all the haters out there, don't you have some YouTube comments section to infest?)

Thankfully, the core "Acolyte" narrative, which was all about master-apprentice relationships and the importance of passing down your own philosophy, lives on in "Maul."

"The Acolyte" is all about characters who want to impress their own specific ideologies onto a pupil, thereby securing their own intellectual and/or spiritual heredity. The show's antagonist, known as the Stranger (Manny Jacinto), is obsessed with this idea — desperate to find an acolyte of his own so that he might be recognized as a master in his own right. For Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae), the desire for a true protégé is almost a corrupting force, leading him away from the no-connection teachings of the Jedi.

In the first two episodes of "Maul — Shadow Lord," that same idea is front and center. Maul (Sam Witwer) wishes to find an apprentice too, and not for the first time. After being rescued from a life of madness by his brother Savage in "The Clone Wars," Maul becomes his master. After Darth Sidious hunts them down and murders Savage, Maul tries to seduce Ahsoka Tano to the dark side in his place. Even in "Star Wars Rebels," an older Maul is still determined to find a novitiate. So it's no surprise that he's doing the same in his own show, targeting a young Jedi on the run named Devon Izara (Gideon Adlon).

Why the fixation on apprenticeship? Because in both the Jedi and Sith doctrines, it is the ultimate sign of mastery. Despite his rage against his former master, Palpatine, Maul still seems beholden to a certain dogma that demands he pass on his own ideals in order for them to be properly legitimized.

Since 1977, this has been the story of Star Wars. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader fight over Luke's soul throughout the original trilogy, not just because of a desire to claim him, but because of what his devotion would mean for their own legacies. Maul, perhaps more than any other Star Wars character, is obsessed with the idea of legacy. He believes he was meant to be at Palpatine's side when he conquered the galaxy, and he hates that he was cast aside so easily. Training a successor is the only real way he can continue to believe in his own ongoing significance as time continues to pass him by. 

These foundational thematic parallels — what George Lucas might describe as "rhyming" — is a core facet of Star Wars. And while "The Acolyte" will never get a chance to continue the intriguing threads laid out at the end of its sole season, part of the fun of being a fan is getting to lay one story on top of another and see the ways they continue to speak to each other.

New episodes of "Maul — Shadow Lord" — which finally makes good on an eight-year-old Star Wars promise – drop every Monday on Disney+.