A major Ahsoka villain is back in a big way for Lucasfilm's newest Disney+ show, and the character feels notably different this time around. This villain was first introduced in the live-action Ahsoka in 2023 and later featured in the animated Star Wars anthology, Tales of the Empire. His latest appearance in Maul – Shadow Lord is the biggest spotlight the character has received to date, and Lucasfilm has made one key casting change to support his return.
The villain in question is Inquisitor Marrok, who Paul Darnell physically portrayed in Ahsoka, an almost non-speaking role. The character wore a mask throughout the show and relied more on action than words. With Marrok now functioning as a fully verbal antagonist in Maul – Shadow Lord, the role has been handed to voice actor A.J. LoCascio. LoCascio is no stranger to a galaxy far, far away, having previously voiced multiple incarnations of Han Solo in LEGO Star Wars projects.
Maul – Shadow Lord premiered on Disney+ on April 6, with Sam Witwer reprising his long-running role as the former Sith Lord, Darth Maul. The 10-episode first season is set several years before the events of Ahsoka, which means Marrok is in his prime as the First Brother of the Inquisitorius.
Marrok makes his presence felt in Episodes 5 and 6 of Maul – Shadow Lord, squaring off with Maul and the Jedi Devon Izara on the planet Janix. This version of the character is fully active, fully verbal, and very much alive, a sharp contrast to the heavily armored, nearly silent figure fans first met in Ahsoka.
The recasting was a practical necessity once Lucasfilm chose to give Marrok dialogue and a personality, since Darnell's Ahsoka performance was focused mainly on movement and presence behind the mask. The recasting has proven to be a great decision, with Marrok now having a more sinister presence, thanks to the unsettling, horror-coded voice LoCascio lent to the Ahsoka villain.
Marrok's return to Disney+ is exciting, but he isn't the only villain making a comeback to the platform. Other Star Wars villains are also returning to Disney+, especially in one highly anticipated project.
Star Wars Villains Returning To Disney+ Soon
Grand Admiral Thrawn
Lars Mikkelsen continues as Grand Admiral Thrawn for Ahsoka Season 2, picking up after the Chiss strategist successfully escaped Peridea at the end of Season 1. Mikkelsen voiced the character in Star Wars Rebels before stepping into live-action, and his Season 2 arc is widely expected to focus on Thrawn's rebuilding of Imperial loyalist forces in the New Republic era. He's undoubtedly the spine of the broader storyline, with every other returning Ahsoka villain orbiting his agenda in some way.
Baylan Skoll
Baylan Skoll is another Ahsoka villain who has been recast, but this time around, it comes under unfortunate circumstances. Following Ray Stevenson's death in 2023, Lucasfilm tapped Game of Thrones actor Rory McCann to step into the role for Ahsoka Season 2. Stevenson was a great actor whose performance left Baylan in a deeply ambiguous place, fixated on a vision of power tied to the ancient ruins of Peridea.
McCann is inheriting one of the most thematically loaded character arcs in the entire show, and it's expected that he'll honor Ray's memory with an electric performance. How the production handles the transition will likely be key to Season 2's reception, given how much fans love Baylan as a character and how Stevenson portrayed him.
Shin Hati
Ivanna Sakhno returns as Shin Hati, the apprentice last seen on Peridea after Baylan left her to chase his own goals. Season 2 is set to chart her path forward without her master, making it likely that we see a more dangerous version of the character. Shin's arc is one of the few in the series with no obvious destination, which gives the writers room to take her in a direction nobody saw coming during Season 1.
Nightsister Great Mothers
The Great Mothers, the trio of Dathomirian witches who pulled Thrawn back into the main galaxy through their dark magic, are also confirmed to return for Ahsoka Season 2. Their power source remains one of the show's biggest mysteries, and their connection to Marrok makes them even more intriguing, since Marrok's Ahsoka death released the same green mist associated with Nightsister magic. With Thrawn's ambitions growing bigger than ever, the Great Mothers are expected to play a crucial role in Season 2.
How Soon Will These Disney+ Villains Return?
Of all the returning villains mentioned, Marrok's reappearance in Maul – Shadow Lord is the only one fans can watch right now. The bigger reunion, the one with Thrawn, Baylan, Shin, and the Great Mothers, is still tied to the long-awaited second season of Ahsoka, which is currently locked in post-production.
Filming on Ahsoka Season 2 kicked off in the UK in April 2025 and wrapped in October of the same year, with Dave Filoni writing all eight episodes and Bryce Dallas Howard directing two of them. The lack of a firm release date had fans worried that the new season would not be released anytime soon. Fans got even more worried when Disney excluded the series from its 2026 slate in December last year.
However, good news arrived in January, when Disney+ quietly added Ahsoka Season 2 to its "Coming Soon in 2026" category on the streaming platform. The listing did not come with a date, but it confirmed that the show is still on track to arrive before the end of the year. With post-production still underway, a late 2026 premiere remains the most realistic target for the long-awaited Disney+ return of the Ahsoka villain ensemble.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
