2026's Darth Maul-centric Star Wars show, Maul - Shadow Lord, is confirmed to abandon what made the Clone Wars great by abandoning its original animation style. Star Wars Celebration 2025 in Japan made a surprise announcement by confirming the arrival of a Darth Maul solo animated series that will serve as a continuation of his story from Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The first sneak peek of Maul - Shadow Lord was also showcased during the April 2025 event, giving fans a hint of its animation style, which appears to be slightly edgier than its predecessor. And now, a confirmation about the Clone Wars sequel's approach toward its animation has emerged online.
Star Wars confirmed that Maul - Shadow Lord will have "a new style of animation" when it arrives on Disney+ next year. This marks the first confirmation that this show will have a different animation style than Clone Wars (and any other Lucasfilm Animation show, for that matter).
Based on the first footage of the Clone Wars sequel (unveiled below), it appears that Shadow Lord's animation style will be darker and an enhanced version of the original show's distinct, stylized CGI visual aesthetic.
Speaking with CinemaBlend in April 2025, following the announcement of Maul - Shadow Lord, Sam Witwer reflected on the show's animation style, pointing out that the series will embrace "a little bit more extreme" and "more edgy and jagged and dangerous" style due to the protagonist's brutal worldview:
"The animation style was something that Dave [Filoni] described to me that it will recognizably be in that Clone Wars world, but a little bit more extreme because it’s things from Darth Maul’s perspective. It’s a little bit more edgy and jagged and dangerous."
It seems to embrace this style to match Maul's ruthless nature and brutal worldview, especially after Witwer also confirmed in a separate interview in November 2025 that the series will depict the Empire's rise from Maul's perspective. This new animation style is a crucial tool in telling Maul's story in Shadow Lord while also allowing the spinoff to stand out from its predecessor.
Created by Dave Filoni, Maul - Shadow Lord follows the titular character after the fall of the Jedi Order, which was chronicled during Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Witwer headlines the show's voice cast, but details about the rest of the cast members are still unknown. Maul - Shadow Lord is confirmed to premiere on Disney+ sometime in 2026.
Maul's Animation Style Offers Plenty of Reasons for the Show to Succeed
The fact that Maul - Shadow Lord will fully embrace the titular character's ruthless nature through its animation style is already a precursor to its success.
Unleashing a new animation style for the Clone Wars sequel would instantly make it stand out, while still ensuring that the story takes precedence, thanks to the involvement of a master storyteller like Dave Filoni.
Moreover, Star Wars has consistently produced top-notch animated content, including Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and most recently, Star Wars: The Bad Batch. It seems that Maul - Shadow Lord is on track to follow the same trajectory, as the creators are aware of matching the character's perspective by evolving the animation style to best suit his presentation to the audience.
If anything, Maul - Shadow Lord's exciting new animation style has the potential to break new ground for Star Wars, while still allowing for possible improvements over time to solidify Lucasfilm Animation's approach to evolving its aesthetic.
