Maul: Shadow Lord's new promo hinted at a major cameo from an iconic Star Wars villain. The upcoming Disney+ animated series is set to bring back the Empire's Jedi-hunting Inquisitors as they pursue Darth Maul while he tries to rebuild his criminal empire on Janix. While the planet remains relatively untouched by Imperial control, it seems that Maul's reckless antics caught Emperor Palpatine's attention, leading to the arrival of two confirmed Inquisitors: Marrok and the Eleventh Brother.
Star Wars and Disney+ officially released a new trailer for Maul: Shadow Lord, providing fans with new glimpses of Maul's rise in the criminal underbelly on Janix and his duel with the Inquisitors. At the 0:14 mark of the trailer, the returning Marrok from Ahsoka Season 2 can be seen talking to his superior (in holographic form), with him saying, "Lord, Maul Lives."
Some fans pointed out that Marrok is directly informing Darth Vader about the status of Maul. In Star Wars canon, Darth Vader serves as the supereme leader and master of the Imperial Inquisitors, and it would make sense that the Sith Lord is the one Marrok is informing in the Clone Wars sequel.
Others have theorized that Marrok and the Eleventh Brother (The Crow) are actually on a secret mission dispatched by Emperor Palpatine, and this move could be seen as mind games for Palpatine because he is aware of Maul's hatred toward him.
Meanwhile, the 30-second trailer also showed Stormtroopers seemingly infiltrating Maul's base of operations, and this could spell some trouble for the former Sith Lord's rise to power.
Another shot in the early moments of the trailer showed Devon Izara, the show's main Jedi character, about to engage in a fight against Maul. While Devon is being positioned as a potential apprentice to Maul in the show, this shot basically confirmed that the pair will be (unsurpisingly) at odds at first.
Watch the new trailer for Maul: Shadow Lord below:
Maul: Shadow Lord is set to have a two-episode premiere on Disney+ on Monday, April 6.
Is Darth Vader the Final Big Bad in Maul: Shadow Lord?
Maul: Shadow Lord is set one year after the events of Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7 and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, meaning that the Empire is still consolidating power in the galaxy and Darth Vader is freshly transformed and busy with high-level Imperial duties.
The latest trailer appears to tease that Darth Vader will be an overarching presence deploying these Inquisitors to take care of Maul. If they fail, though, it will be a different story altogether because Vader could physically appear in the story to take care of Maul himself. It's also worth noting that Vader and Maul have never happened on-screen, but every diehard Star Wars fan could get their eyes peeled on Maul: Shadow Lord if the duel happens.
However, it's possible that Vader would not go to Janix himself. Given their shared history, Emperor Palpatine could instead choose to confront his former apprentice directly. The confrontation between Palpatine and Maul could be a deeply personal and psychologically charged encounter, raising the stakes for the former Sith Lord.
Whatever the case, it is quite inevitable that Maul will directly confront either Vader or Palpatine in his upcoming spinoff show.
