George Lucas giving a thumbs up at the Cannes Film FestivalAurore Marechal/Abaca Press/INSTARimages
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Lewis Glazebrook
Published 6 minutes ago
Lewis is a Lead Writer for Screen Rant and has written for the site since 2022. This has allowed Lewis to explore a vast array of films, TV shows, books, comic books, and games from across the mainstream world of pop culture, reflecting his lifelong love of all media and typifying his experience in the world of fiction storytelling. To top this off, Lewis graduated from Northumbria University with First Class Honours in Film & TV Studies, truly exemplifying his experience in the medium.
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A 26-year-old George Lucas mistake is finally being fixed thanks to a sequel to Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The Clone Wars is often regarded as one of the best Star Wars TV shows, primarily for how it deepened George Lucas' prequel era. The prequels were far from the best Star Wars movies upon release, but that has somewhat changed since.
The three movies have undergone a period of revisionism, with The Clone Wars' success being a big reason as to why. With several Star Wars animated shows spinning off from The Clone Wars, the show's popularity and importance to the franchise have only become more evident.
Perhaps the best thing about The Clone Wars was how it fixed some of the mistakes of the prequels. Even to this day, the legacy of the TV show is altering some of the biggest problems Lucas had in the early 2000s. In 2026, a new sequel to Star Wars: The Clone Wars will prove that this trend is continuing, by finally solidifying the fix of a 26-year-old Star Wars mistake.
Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord Continues The Franchise's Darth Maul Fix
Darth Maul with his lightsaber ignited in Maul Shadow Lord
In 2026, Lucasfilm will release Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord. The show will be an animated sequel to Star Wars: The Clone Wars, focusing on Maul's journey between that show and his appearances in Solo: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars Rebels. As a show in and of itself, this concept is very exciting, as it explores Maul's rise to becoming a crime lord.
Beyond that, though, it solidifies the fix of a George Lucas mistake from Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. In The Phantom Menace, Maul was "killed" by Obi-Wan Kenobi after being cut in half during the Duel of the Fates. This was deemed a mistake by audiences and Lucas himself, given the allure Maul had as a threatening, menacing Star Wars Sith Lord.
Lucas later fixed his mistake by resurrecting Maul in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, revealing that he survived using his hatred for Kenobi before being restored to his former self by the Nightsisters. The Clone Wars explored that, with Maul: Shadow Lord only continuing his story.
Above anything else, Maul: Shadow Lord is solidifying this fix by making Maul a main character. The former Sith Lord has appeared in several Star Wars stories since his resurrection, but Maul: Shadow Lord is the first project in which he is the sole focus. After Lucas went back on his Episode I mistake, Maul: Shadow Lord is taking things even further.
Darth Maul's Death In Episode I Is One Of Star Wars' Biggest Disappointments
It is worth reiterating just how disappointing Darth Maul's death was in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. One reason for this was how little the film utilized the character. Maul only has a few lines of spoken dialogue in the film, appearing more as a mysterious, almost robotic threat to the Jedi.
The fact that Maul managed to imprint himself on viewers as an excellent Star Wars villain using only his design and combat skills proves how excellent the basics of the character were. The remaining two sequels to The Phantom Menace could have built on that by further fleshing out Maul as The Clone Wars did, were it not for his premature "death".
The other Sith Lords, or their allies, introduced in the prequels beyond Maul simply did not reach the same level of hype. Count Dooku was similarly underutilized, as was General Grievous. Lucas should have made Maul the secondary antagonist of the entire prequel trilogy, second only to Darth Sidious himself.
As it was, though, Star Wars only began scratching the surface of the character before killing him off. Star Wars: The Clone Wars reversed this to great effect, but there is no denying that the death in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace remains disappointing to this day.
Has There Been Too Much Maul In Star Wars Recently?
Ray Park as Darth Maul in Star Wars franchise
With Maul: Shadow Lord on the horizon, the question of whether there has been too much of the character in recent Star Wars is raised. To put it bluntly, though, the answer is no; Maul is a great character who has arguably not been given enough time in the franchise. The Clone Wars featured him to good effect, but only in spurts throughout seasons 3, 4, and 5.
Maul was then absent for all of season 6 and most of season 7, before appearing in the exceptional Siege of Mandalore arc. Maul has also had a few appearances in Star Wars Rebels, which concluded his character arc beautifully, as well as his cameo in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
However, despite these many appearances, many would agree that there are significant gaps in Maul's Star Wars timeline that are ripe for more stories. Maul: Shadow Lord is simply capitalizing on this by showing what became of the titular character after Order 66, and how he went on to become the leader of the crime syndicate known as Crimson Dawn.
In many ways, Maul: Shadow Lord is the perfect send-off for the character. It solidifies Lucas' fix of a three-decade-old mistake by making Maul a main character for the first time, all while filling in what is perhaps the most intriguing part of the character's timeline. For this reason, there is not too much Maul in Star Wars. After Maul: Shadow Lord, though, that argument could resurface.
Maul: Shadow Lord
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