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Maybe essentially the most shocking current announcement we bought from Star Wars Celebration in Japan this weekend was the animated collection Darth Maul: Shadow Lord, set in the course of the Imperial period of the galaxy. The truth that this was principally unnoticed, particularly for such a well-liked character, stays a sobering indictment of how a lot his story has been exhausted in recent times. Not solely is it full, however there’s little left to indicate that we now have not already seen, and the collection simply appears like an try to hold staying in the identical time interval time and again. This isn’t a brand new flaw of the franchise, nevertheless it’s one Lucasfilm has but to study from or resolve, which is one thing that ought to fear all of us.

‘Star Wars’ Has Explored Maul From Each Potential Angle

When he first debuted in Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace twenty-five years in the past, Darth Maul (Ray Park) instantly stood out as essentially the most fascinating factor about an in any other case mediocre movie. Together with his new double-bladed lightsaber and demonic look, he captured the eye of the viewers greater than every other prequel-era character, regardless of having nearly no likes and only a few minutes of display time. Nonetheless, he was killed off very early and was by no means a deep or complicated character, even within the a number of novels that adopted, and it was thus an ideal shock when The Clone Wars introduced his character again in its later seasons. Because of stellar vocal appearing from Sam Witwer and exploration of his ties to the Nightsisters of Dathomir, Maul arguably turned the perfect a part of the present throughout its remaining years, maybe most notably with the ultimate Mandalore subplot, and has remained a staple of Star Wars animation ever since.

As time went on, we bought to see extra of Maul as he developed, slowly going from an unhinged loner to a schemer and highly effective chief, controlling each crime lords and the Mandalorian clans alike. He is additionally simply as lethal as he ever was earlier than, even with a single blade, whereas on the identical time fully out of his depth when dealing with his former grasp. For a collection that has usually been responsible of undermining different characters, Maul was improved by his arc in Clone Wars, introducing him to a complete new technology. Minimize to the later seasons of Rebels years into the darkish instances, and he turns into a darkish mentor to Ezra Bridger (Taylor Grey) earlier than turning rogue as soon as extra, leading to a really devastating and poetic remaining finish for his character in what stays top-of-the-line and briefest lightsaber duels ever.

‘Darth Maul: Shadow Lord’ Is Not a Story That Wants Telling

Darth Maul choking Bo-Katan in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. — Picture by way of Lucasfilm

Probably the most tragic elements of Darth Maul as a personality is that he’s at all times destined to finish up again at sq. one, a contemporary Sisyphus who by no means truly succeeds in his targets. This makes any story with him difficult, nevertheless it feels additional redundant with this new collection. Not like Ahsoka (Ashley Eckstein) or Ventress (Nika Futterman) in canon, who’ve had their tales proceed in new kinds over time, which stay ongoing, Maul has a firmly definitive endpoint for his personal arc.

That does not imply there cannot be an ideal story, one thing which Andor proved very properly, nevertheless it makes the choices for Maul extraordinarily restricted. We all know he has to finish up marooned on Malachor by the point of Rebels, and the present doesn’t say simply how lengthy he has been there, however having him merely stay stranded for 2 full a long time appears like a extra becoming cycle for such a pitiable character. It additionally doesn’t assist that we have seen most of this story earlier than, from Maul controlling prison gangs to taking over an apprentice of his personal, and there’s not a lot left to do with him this lengthy after his revival.

Whereas Darth Maul arguably represents the perfect of Star Wars animation, the way during which his storyline unfolded additionally factors to a significant subject that makes this new collection redundant. As a consequence of how Clone Wars was usually structured, with storylines divided into arcs moderately than regularly creating over the course of every season, it implies that occasions like Maul’s rehabilitation are solely briefly addressed with Nightsister magic and by no means handled once more. Primarily, the model of Maul that we reunite with in Rebels is identical one from Clone Wars twenty years in the past, leaving no room for a lot evolution or change in the course of the twenty years in between. Due to that storytelling model, one which Star Wars has since typically prevented, it means Darth Maul: Shadow Lord has little to work with, remaining suffocated by each its predecessor and its successor.

Luke Skywalker wielding his lightsaber in front of the Death Star

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‘Star Wars’ Animation Must Deal with Authentic Characters

Darth Maul, voiced by Sam Witwer, in The Clone Wars. — Picture by way of Lucasfilm

It is no secret that Star Wars has been struggling to stay related currently, however in some sense, this battle with the movies is comprehensible. In any case, the sequel trilogy was the core of the brand new period, whereas the anthology movies mainly derailed after Solo: A Star Wars Story underperformed. What feels way more troubling is the development we’re now seeing inside the animated realm. Whereas the live-action tv exhibits are responsible of being formulaic too, they’ve no less than tried to discover new eras from time to time or sort out totally different genres in a means the animated exhibits have merely refused to do. Each story now could be both an extension of the prequels or set in the course of the Imperial period, and it looks as if Dave Filoni is solely attempting to cram out as a lot of it as potential, however on the expense of all the pieces else. The one exception is Star Wars: Visions, which stays non-canonical and is made by a wholly totally different animation crew.

This isn’t to say there aren’t nice characters to discover. Current exhibits like The Unhealthy Batch or Tales of the Jedi and Tales of the Empire have confirmed distinctive of their tales, however all of them really feel the identical in what needs to be an intensive universe. Simply as nostalgia for the unique trilogy has handicapped the sequel trilogy, the real love for the prequel period amongst executives and followers alike has left no room for different sorts of tales, utilizing the very same characters and maintaining them alive properly past their pure lifespan. Lucasfilm has already proven its skill to create new issues for followers each young and old, and there are nonetheless some promising indicators of this once in a while, however the studio merely must do it extra in the event that they wish to absolutely study from their previous errors and stay related.

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