‘Boy, We Could Sure Use a Jedi Knight or Two’ — Years After Stabbing Qui-Gon in the Gut, Star Wars Voice Actor Says Darth Maul Now Respects His Former Enemies

Darth Maul’s new Disney+ TV series will show a changed version of the infamous Star Wars: The Phantom Menace villain — one who has learned that there’s “something to respect” about the Jedi.

That’s according to veteran Darth Maul voice actor Sam Witwer, speaking to Star Wars Insider (via The HoloFiles), who has previewed his character’s upcoming return by discussing how things have changed in the years since he killed Qui-Gon Jinn, and then was cut in two by Obi-Wan.

For those who haven’t followed what happened next to Darth Maul (who ended Phantom Menace in two pieces), the short version is he was revived, somehow, and enjoyed a popular run in the Star Wars: Clone Wars TV show. Now, the horny antagonist is back for more, this time as the star of Maul: Shadow Lord, a 10-episode animated show set to feature more of his exploits.

“We pick up after The Clone Wars,” Witwer said, setting the scene. “The Empire has taken over, and Maul’s reassessing everything. There were plans in place that were supposed to insulate him from the changes when the Empire came to power, and a lot of the people that were supposed to be there for him were not. He’s getting back on his feet, the dust is clearing, and he’s looking around at the Empire — the thing he and his master had been working toward since he was an apprentice — and thinking, ‘Is this what Palpatine had in mind? How do I feel about this?'”

As the series will apparently show, Maul does not have a great feeling about this — what the Empire is up to and how it is simply a regime that exists for “influence, power and money.” At the same time, Maul is also harbouring changed thoughts on his former master, following Darth Sidious’ murder of Maul’s brother Savage Opress.

“He was trained to hate and destroy the Jedi without ever questioning it,” Witwer continued. “Now he’s looking at the galaxy going, ‘Boy, we could sure use a Jedi Knight or two.’ At least with the Jedi you knew where they stood. There’s something to respect there. This Empire, he sees no values there, just the naked grab for influence, power, and money. Principles are gone. And he looks at that with a certain level of distaste. He may not have agreed with the Jedi Knights, but at least they had principles. You knew who you were dealing with and you could reason with that. There’s no reasoning with the Empire.”

All of that said, don’t expect Maul to suddenly become a cuddly character. “This show is bad guys versus worse guys,” Witwer concluded, “and Maul’s on the bad-guy side of that equation.”

Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord will premiere via Disney+ on April 6, 2026, with two episodes being released each week until May 4.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social