In the wake of Revenge of the Sith, Maul (Sam Witwer) and his Mandalorian lieutenant Rook Kast (Vanessa Marshall) are running heists on the urban world, Janix. Setting the local syndicates at war, Maul plans on getting back everything that was taken from him. But local cops Lawson (Wagner Moura) and Two-Boots (Richard Ayoade) have other ideas. As does Jedi in hiding Eeko-Dio Daki (Dennis Haysbert) and their Padawan Devon Izara (Gideon Adlon).

This first episode of a two season (at least) crime drama is maybe the best-looking Star Wars Animated show that isn’t the Tales anthology in years. Janx feels like a rundown ’70s city with added robots, and the design is witty and darkly funny. One mob boss is an elaborately suited ‘businessman’, another is a small alien in a comically large set of power armour. Lawson is a caffeine-seeking cop who’d be at home on Hill Street, with the feds of The Beekeeper or a thousand other shows. But here his beat includes skimmer heists, mutilated droids and Mandalorians dissecting cop cars mid-flight. It’s a great, grimy background that feels dangerous and sets the tone perfectly.

The script too is nicely handled, especially Maul’s elaborate and not remotely calm revenge plan and the persistent sense of danger he brings with him. There’s always a sense of a punch about to be thrown, and again, a real sense of danger for a lot of these characters which is a hell of an achievement for a franchise so obsessed with its own past. While we know Maul’s end though, everyone else here is either almost or brand new and none of them feel safe. The ending, with Maul sensing Devon and apparently picking a new apprentice, speaks to that on two levels. The actual physical danger and the fact he’s both eschewed the Sith and still, somehow is drawn to pick someone to train. The Jedi aren’t the only ones alone in this new world it seems.

That tension defines every character here and for the first time in a while I’m genuinely invested in a pair of Jedi. Haysbert brings calm and focus to Eeko-Dio Daki, which sets him in opposition to Maul instantly while Adlon’s Devon is a seething mess of unacknowledged trauma. The show is brave enough to explore how Eeeko-Dio’s older generation’s calm and belief in goodness isn’t shared by Devon’s child soldier turned Order 66 survivor. It’s braver still in showing how much she wants it to be and how much that makes her a perfect target for Maul.

All of this is enormously impressive and Witwer, Adlon and Moura excel on the voice side of things in a mostly strong cast. The single weak link is Ayoade who does the exact thing you expect him to and he always does. Two-Boots is an interesting character but right now his voice actor is the least interesting, one note part of the show by a long way. I’d love for that to change. I hope it will.

Verdict: That one bum note aside, the show’s off to a great start. 8/10

Alasdair Stuart

 

The first two episodes of Maul – Shadow Lord are on Disney + now and it releases weekly.