Star Wars Needs To Leave Darth Maul Behind

Maybe essentially the most stunning latest announcement we obtained from Star Wars Celebration in Japan this weekend was the animated sequence Darth Maul: Shadow Lord, set through the Imperial period of the galaxy. The truth that this was principally unnoticed, particularly for such a preferred character, stays a sobering indictment of how a lot his story has been exhausted lately. Not solely is it full, however there may be little left to indicate that we now have not already seen, and the sequence simply appears like an try to maintain staying in the identical time interval again and again. That is not a new flaw of the franchise, however 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 Attainable 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 attention-grabbing factor about an in any other case mediocre movie. Along with his new double-bladed lightsaber and demonic look, he captured the attention of the audience greater than some other prequel-era character, regardless of having nearly no likes and only a few minutes of display screen time. Nevertheless, 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 a terrific shock when The Clone Wars introduced his character again in its later seasons. Due to stellar vocal performing from Sam Witwer and exploration of his ties to the Nightsisters of Dathomir, Maul arguably turned the very best 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 obtained 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 similar time utterly out of his depth when going through his former grasp. For a sequence that has usually been guilty of undermining other characters, Maul was improved by his arc in Clone Wars, introducing him to an entire 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 Gray) earlier than turning rogue as soon as extra, leading to a very devastating and poetic final end for his character in what stays the most effective and briefest lightsaber duels ever.

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

Picture through Lucasfilm

One of the vital tragic features 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 tough, however it feels further redundant with this new sequence. Not like Ahsoka (Ashley Eckstein) or Ventress (Nika Futterman) in canon, who’ve had their tales continue in new forms through the years, which stay ongoing, Maul has a firmly definitive endpoint for his personal arc.

That does not imply there cannot be a terrific story, one thing which Andor proved very properly, however 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 up an apprentice of his own, and there may be not a lot left to do with him this lengthy after his revival.

Whereas Darth Maul arguably represents the very best of Star Wars animation, the style during which his storyline unfolded additionally factors to a serious challenge that makes this new sequence redundant. Attributable to how Clone Wars was usually structured, with storylines divided into arcs fairly than steadily growing over the course of every season, it signifies that occasions like Maul’s rehabilitation are solely briefly addressed with Nightsister magic and by no means handled once more. Basically, the model of Maul that we reunite with in Rebels is similar one from Clone Wars twenty years in the past, leaving no room for a lot evolution or change through the 20 years in between. Due to that storytelling type, 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 Unique Characters

Darth Maul, voiced by Sam Witwer, in The Clone Wars. — Picture through 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 principally derailed after Solo: A Star Wars Story underperformed. What feels way more troubling is the development we’re now seeing throughout the animated realm. Whereas the live-action tv exhibits are responsible of being formulaic too, they’ve at least attempted to explore new eras infrequently or deal with completely different genres in a means the animated exhibits have merely refused to do. Each story now’s both an extension of the prequels or set through the Imperial period, and it looks as if Dave Filoni is solely making an attempt to cram out as a lot of it as potential, however on the expense of every thing else. The one exception is Star Wars: Visions, which stays non-canonical and is made by a wholly completely different animation workforce.

This isn’t to say there aren’t nice characters to discover. Current exhibits like The Bad 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 kinds of tales, utilizing the very same characters and protecting them alive properly past their pure lifespan. Lucasfilm has already proven its capacity to create new things for fans both old and young, and there are nonetheless some promising indicators of this now and again, however the studio merely must do it extra in the event that they need to totally study from their previous errors and stay related.

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