Lucasfilm confirmed it will release its fourth villain-focused Disney+ series next year. While fans love getting to focus on the good guys of the galaxy far, far away with shows like Andor, The Mandalorian, and Skeleton Crew, there is a kind of simple pleasure that comes with breaking bad every once in a while and putting the dark side of The Force under the spotlight. Thankfully, there have been plenty of opportunities for fans to indulge in these malevolent pleasures for Star Wars fans over the last couple of years.
A fourth villain-focused Disney+ Star Wars series has been officially confirmed, and it is coming next year. The new Maul: Shadow Lord series from Lucasfilm Animation is the latest animated series from the Clone Wars and Bad Batch team, this time focusing on the iconic Prequels Era big bad as he navigates the galaxy after the fall of the Republic.
The new series was first officially detailed at Star Wars Celebration in April (read more about the biggest Star Wars Celebration announcements here), describing its villain-centric plot focused on the iconic antagonist from Star Wars: Episode I.
Plot details about the animated series have remained scarce; however, Maul voice actor Sam Witwer has revealed a couple of nuggets about the project in recent interviews.
The longtime voice of the villain shared on a May 2025 episode of The Sackhoff Show that the series will focus on Maul as he grapples with the vision of the Empire (he was once a part of) as it actually comes to fruition.
The series will see the fan-favorite villain ask, "Is this better?" in the wake of Order 66, focusing on a story akin to what would happen when "I'm the Joker and Batman's dead."
Maul: Shadow Lord is due out on Disney+ in 2026 as the latest in a long list of villain-focused Star Wars streaming series. The new show will see voice actor Sam Witwer return to embody the dastardly Dathomirian, picking up his story after fans left him at the end of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Every Star Wars Villain-Centered Disney+ Series to Date
The Book of Boba Fett
Released on Disney+ in December 2021, The Book of Boba Fett put Temuera Morrison's iconic Mandalorian under the microscope for the first time.
The streaming series, which was sandwiched between The Mandalorian Seasons 2 and 3, followed parallel timelines, focusing on Boba Fett's journey after emerging from the Sarlacc Pit in Episode VI and his vying for power to become daimyo of Tatooine.
Tales of the Empire
After focusing only on the Jedi with its debut season, the Tales of... series turned its focus to the evil Empire for its 2024 release, Tales of the Empire.
This six-part anthology centered on two members of the Star Wars galaxy's central evil regime, Bariss Offee (the Jedi who turned on Ahsoka in the Clone Wars Series) and Morgan Elsbeth (the Force-sensitive nightsister from the live-action Ahsoka series who is in cahoots with the dangerous Grand Admiral Thrawn).
Tales of the Underworld
In May 2025, the Tales of... franchise yet again took a walk on the wild side, releasing another villain-centric series of animated anthology stories. Tales of the Underworld came to Disney+ on May 4, 2025, to rave reviews, this time telling unique stories about some of Star Wars' worst criminals.
The series centered on two of the franchise's most iconic baddies, Asajj Ventress and Cad Bane. It followed one as she searched for the Jedi-saving Path in the wake of Order 66 and the other as he earned his stripes as one of the galaxy's most dangerous scoundrels.
BONUS: The Acolyte
While not technically specifically villain-focused, The Acolyte should (at least partly) be considered for this list. The High Republic streaming series, which took place roughly 100 years before Star Wars: Episode I, followed a pair of twin sisters, one who was a former Jedi and the other who had broken bad and was now a dark side-user.
The Acolyte took a deep dive into the dark side of The Force, unlike just about any other Star Wars Disney+ series today. So, it, too, should be considered a villain-focused project, just like the rest of these supremely sinister Star Wars shows.
