The official site at StarWars.com takes us inside the first two chapters of Maul: Shadow Lord sharing behind-the-scenes stories, trivia, and fascinating facts from the team behind the new animated series on Disney+.
Janix concept art by Ben Bryant.
1. Much of Maul – Shadow Lord is set on the world of Janix, a new location created for the series. A Mid Rim planet largely beneath the Empire’s notice, the world features a large metropolis built into an ancient crater surrounded by a vast, overgrown jungle.
Rook Kast in Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir and The Clone Wars.
2. Rook Kast was first seen in the comic book series Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir, which was based on unproduced scripts of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. She made her on-screen debut in The Clone Wars Season 7 episode “Old Friends Not Forgotten.”
Icarus and Scorn.
3. Rounding out Maul’s crew are a pair of Dathomirian Nightbrothers and a group of Mandalorian Supercommandos — two factions with deep ties to Maul’s history. Maul himself was born a Nightbrother before beginning his Sith training. Many years later, Maul would utilize his close ties to the Death Watch splinter group of Mandalorians to gain control of Mandalore.
The acronym TDF can be seen on some officer uniforms, denoting members of the Tactical Defense Force.
4. The acronym TDF can be seen on some officer uniforms, denoting members of the Tactical Defense Force. TDF is a special unit within the Janix Civil Defense, the organization that oversees all law enforcement and peacekeeping on the planet.
Eeko-Dio Daki concept art by Chris Madden.
5. During development, Eeko-Dio Daki was lovingly referred to as “Dino Jedi” before being given his official name. He’s also a new species called a Mosyk.
6. When Daki begs a citizen for help, they reply with “e chu ta,” a rude Huttese phrase first uttered in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.
Two-Boots from Maul – Shadow Lord and Zero from The Mandalorian.
7. Two-Boots is voiced by prolific British comedian and Travel Man Richard Ayoade. This is Ayoade’s second droid character in the Star Wars galaxy; he previously voiced Q9-0, or “Zero,” in The Mandalorian.
Spybots droid’s “Eye view”.
8. We frequently see a “droid’s eye view” perspective when Spybot is snooping, a POV rarely seen in Star Wars media.
The meal served to Looti Vario and Deemis at their meeting in the warehouse.
9. The meal served to Looti Vario and Deemis at their meeting in the warehouse is inspired by the classic Italian dish chicken parmigiana served up at writer meetings held at Dan Tana’s in West Hollywood. “When you see Vario cutting into it and the way the cheese pulls, that was not easy to do, but it’s great,” Head Writer Matthew Michnovetz says.
Actor Sam Witwer at Lucasfilm headquarters in San Francisco.
10. Actor Sam Witwer drew lines on his face to approximate Maul’s markings during a session providing live animation reference to the artists on the series at Lucasfilm headquarters in San Francisco. “We wanted to get as much nuance into the animation as possible,” says Supervising Director Brad Rau. “He’s such a great on-screen actor in the booth. Some of the things he did were inspirational for sure. He has no hesitation. He’s fearlessly, perfectly Maul all the time.”
Be sure to head to StarWars.com for more fascinating facts and behind-the-scenes stories from Maul – Shadow Lord, and stream the first two episodes now on Disney+, with two more episodes arriving weekly through to May 4th.
Images: Disney/Lucasfilm
The post Inside the Making of Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord Chapters 1 and 2 appeared first on Jedi News.
