While the live-action Star Wars movies stagnate, Disney+ has kept treating fans well. The latest effort was the animated series, Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord. The recently-concluded Season 1 was quite intense. Here, Maul ran into conflict with the Empire and business associates before the Empire hunted him down in Rebels. The rousing reception made it no surprise that Season 2 got greenlit, an apt reward for quality, cinematic storytelling. Interestingly, Maul — Shadow Lord Season 2 doesn’t just provide a canvas for precursor tales for Maul alone. It opens a corollary to rework an abandoned story from The Acolyte Season 1 using one of the franchise’s scariest overlords.
To recap, The Acolyte’s eight episodes in 2024 hinged on a High Republic conspiracy set centuries before the live-action movies. Several Jedi were killed by the revenge-seeking Mae (Amandla Stenberg). In time, her twin, Osha, a former Padawan to Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae), learned the dead Jedi covered up the slaughter of the witch coven that gave birth to them.
Rather than forgive the subterfuge, the twins were influenced and corrupted by the Sith-like Qimir (Manny Jacinto), himself a former Jedi who grew to despise the Light. The series concluded with Osha giving in to the Dark Side, murdering Sol and joining Qimir as an apprentice. Qimir mind-wiped Mae and took Osha away to finesse her training so they could bring order to the realm. The big revelation in this mystery, though, was that Darth Plagueis was Qimir’s teacher, watching from the shadows. For the uninitiated, Plagueis was the Sith mentor who groomed the iconic Emperor Palpatine before Palpatine became the politician that created Darth Vader.
Unfortunately, with The Acolyte canceled, fans were robbed of learning of more about Plagueis and Qimir’s history, how both operated as teachers and what happened with the twins. But given how Star Wars loves retconning modern continuity, let’s break down why Maul: Shadow Lord is the ideal space to explore the potential of a warped mentorship arc that The Acolyte was gearing up for involving Plagueis.
Shadow Lord Season 2 Can Remix Osha and Mae’s Story With Devon Izarra
Now, a lot comes down to the crux of Plagueis and Maul’s story: legacy. And how these teachers essentially act as fathers in a system that requires the child to kill their parent at some point. In Star Wars’ muddled archives, Plagueis slaughtered his teacher, Darth Tenebrous, before eventually nurturing Palpatine in the science entwined with the Force, aka manipulating midi-chlorians.
Plagueis’ plan was to create the perfect vessel and transfer his essence into. He’d become immortal. Palpatine, however, felt this would make him a discardable understudy. Not wanting to become irrelevant, Palpatine killed Plagueis in his sleep and proceeded to use all the wisdom he imparted.
As years elapsed, Palpatine converted Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader with the promise of keeping his wife, Padme, alive, all through the fabled secrets of Plagueis. Look no further than the ‘Tragedy of Darth Plagueis” story he baited Anakin with in Revenge of the Sith.
But it was all a game Palpatine orchestrated to kept the myth going and keep Vader enslaved. When a repentant Vader died murdering Palpatine in Return of the Jedi, the Emperor used Plagueis’ techniques and dropped his soul into decrepit clone bodies like Supreme Leader Snoke. This led to The Rise of Skywalker decades later, where Rey and Ben Solo (another Palpatine student) had to dig deep to permanently eradicate the villain.
Without a doubt, it’s a toxic, excoriating cycle for the Sith. Students betray teachers, harness all the knowledge, and then face the same karma. Ironically, Maul is in the same spot. He ended Maul: Shadow Lord Season 1 with an apprentice of his own: Devon Izarra. As Maul tried to eliminate enemies on Janix, Vader and Inquisitors came for him. All season long, Maul also ran afoul of Devon and her master, Daki, after they escaped the genocidal Order 66 that Palpatine sent for Stormtroopers to murder all Jedi.
Maul showed, though, how improvisation was his underrated strength. He sneakily devised a plan for Devon to watch Vader kill Daki, so he could harness Devon’s rage. He converted her to his side in the name of vengeance. Season 2 is now set to focus on how Maul hones and sharpens her as a blade to exact revenge on Palpatine for rebuking him.
The thing is, the show doesn’t have to just rely on Maul and Devon doing the same thing so many Star Wars properties, from the novels to comics to games to cartoons, accomplished.
Maul’s tenure with Devon can subvert the lore and reveal Plagueis actually lived, remained in the shadows, and found Maul to teach. The cartoon already changed continuity and divulged Maul fought Vader — something Rebels never hinted at. Seeing as Vader beat Maul up easily, fans are theorizing Season 2 will have a sequel to this clash to inform why Maul is so frail when Rebels begins. They think Vader will mess Maul up physically and mentally, leaving him a hollow shell of his former self.
But Star Wars can use Plagueis as the inciting factor in Maul’s downfall. It would cover a ton of ground and finishing what The Acolyte started: a backstory to Palpatine’s ‘father.’
Fans would learn more about Plagueis’ past, his methods with students, and how he fared in the wake of Palpatine’s backstabbing. More so, it would reveal how Plagueis lured Qimir from the Jedi, what happened before Osha, and what transpired with Osha’s training. Resolution to how Qimir dealt with his former Jedi trainer, Vernestra (Rebecca Henderson), and if Mae ever regained memories would also be had.
All of this would be integral to understanding why Plagueis would have to use Palpatine in the wake of Qimir and Osha. In other words, The Acolyte Season 2 would get compressed into Maul’s background.
But this would be more than a flashback or trivial filler. It’d educate Maul and Devon on one of the most fearsome Force-wielders ever and how Plagueis’ relationships defined him. They could, in turn, collaborate on the ideals Plagueis taught Palpatine. A prime example would be the Force Dyad and how to harness the cosmos’ energy properly.
This is something we could easily have seen Plagueis doing with Osha and Qimir. For good measure, Maul and Devon can continue diving into the idea of clones, vessels and other scientific tools. The endgame, after all, is for Maul and Devon to upgrade. Who better to do it with? In a sense, we’d live Osha’s tutelage vicariously through current figureheads in the Disney+ landscape.
Shadow Lord Season 2 Can Use Devon’s Tutelage to Break Darth Maul
It’s easy to infer that if the Star Wars creative terrain ever went this route, Maul and Devon may have had to kill Plagueis so he wouldn’t become an unstoppable entity like Palpatine. Use him to level up and then off him, right? That would explain why Plagueis isn’t in the present-day stories. But Maul: Shadow Lord can shift gears by having Plagueis stealing Devon away.
The repercussion? Positioning Maul in a cumbersome spot of bother he never thought he’d end up. One that draws even more sympathy while illuminating why he goes on to recuse himself to Sith world of Malachor to languish in squalor at the start of Rebels.
Why would Devon and Plagueis want to form their own coalition? Well, Plagueis adopting Devon makes sense from a military standpoint. Devon fared much better than Maul against Vader and his hunters. She seems to have more power within, ergo why Maul had dreams to find her on Janix. It’s as if she’s a nexus being and the inversion to Anakin; a Chosen One for the Dark Side.
Once Devon learns Maul set Daki up as a pawn, she would have ample reason to seek another ‘father.’ It’s easy to see her aligning with Plagueis, leaving Maul for dead, and ignoring his suffering once he lives in shame.
Maul being appropriated and ending up as this intermediary, a middle-man to boost Plagueis’ mission would be quite the swerve. It would further match the Sith philosophy where everyone is an object and a means to an end.
This would clarify why Maul was so broken years later in Rebels. Vader, honestly, didn’t even talk to him or take him seriously in Maul — Shadow Lord, so it would feel organic if they weren’t to meet again. Vader and his team wouldn’t see merit into chasing someone so weak. Or even reporting to the Emperor that he’s alive.
Plagueis, however, as an invisible mastermind plotting and needing accomplices, would be seismic. Maul as a gullible, desperate pawn syncs up with his vision. Maul would end up thinking Plagueis and Devon are pawns, only to have the galactic rug pulled from under his feet.
And, make no mistake, Plagueis wouldn’t have to die if this duplicitous direction unfolds and a big brawl occurs that leaves Maul tattered.
Devon and Plagueis could abscond to another dimension, or hide out in the current universe the way Anakin’s apprentice, Ahsoka Tano, did. She spent time in the World Between Worlds, pulled in by a future version of Ezra Bridger. She’d later return to her timeline and hide in exile while entropy and chaos engulfed the galaxy.
Plagueis using another realm to study and perfect his long con would suit his character. As with other Sith Lords, he wouldn’t mind biding time and waiting patiently in the shadows for an opportunity to rule with Devon. If they saw armies, such as the Rebels and Resistance, gunning to take Palpatine out , it’d enable them to stay clandestine and iron out how to bring order in a way the Sith and Jedi of old never could fathom.
Such a grandiose design would take years. Much longer than what Osha and Qimir were training for when they salivated over hunting Jedi.
Imagine Plagueis using Maul as a vehicle to shape this union, kickstart a new entire scheme of rulership, and then displace him. Observing Maul decaying after yet another Master chewed him up and spat him out would be cruel, but it matches the unforgiving style of the Sith.
Shadow Lord Season 2 Can Have Plagueis and Devon Influence Future Star Wars Stories
This could keep Plagueis and Devon in play for hidden stories in the Rebels timeline, or other chapters in the Tales of the Jedi anthology. Because Disney and Lucasfilm are so malleable with canon, they could even be brought back for the upstream movies.
Remember, somehow Palpatine returned.
The presence of Plagueis would also explain why Maul tried in Rebels to recruit the younger Ezra as his protege. Maul remained desperate to locate relics like Sith Holocrons to defeat the Empire. One would think if he truly failed with Devon, he wouldn’t have wanted an alliance with Ezra. Or a student, in general.
Well, Maul realizing he can keep a protege if he does it right would suffice. Fans could see that Maul’s belief in Ezra was due to him learning from the deceit Plagueis used to win Devon over and trying to mimic it.
Clearly, Plagueis coming back as a dark professor serves many functions, with more pros than con. Through clever writing, this strategy keeps Plagueis and his student around to monitor what Palpatine succeeded with, note what Palpatine failed at, and unveil how another apprentice besides Qimir worked out.
Plagueis, as a scientist, would be vested in experiments, test runs with personnel, and different iterations of students, after all. That’s how he became ‘the Wise’ — trial and error. Deploying him for Maul’s development adds to his dichotomy of using trust to manipulate the universe to his will. A parallel to Maul, if there ever was one.
Not to mention, Star Wars needs a big villain. It’s evident in how the movies pivoted from Snoke back to Palpatine. Plagueis is just that: a Thanos-like despot. And due to his intimidating expertise, he can act across any era as a connector to several Sith machinations. This way, with Devon as Plagueis’ squire, Maul: Shadow Lord Season 2 wouldn’t just service Plagueis and The Acolyte, it’d reiterate how Maul never had luck in his schemes.
Maul was always destined for doom and despair, which is why when an older Obi-Wan Kenobi killed him on Tatooine in Rebels, it felt like Maul was relieved. Sure, seeing people like his brother (Savage Oppress) and other close allies die at the Empire’s hands would be considered an abject failure worth dying over.
But being betrayed and abandoned by someone he grew to care for like a daughter would crush Maul’s very fabric entirely and highlight how he helped Plagueis transform into what Palpatine yearned to be: a near-immortal puppet master with several contingencies. In the process, we’d witness Maul lose his spirit, until he meets Ezra and regains a spark of hope.
For the diehards, this approach patches Maul’s story in full, gifts Plagueis a new lease on life, and dials into why many Jedi renounced power for the Sith omerta. To top it off, it sates those who still feel short-sold on The Acolyte’s proposed duality arc between mentors and mentees.
Ultimately, all Disney and Lucasfilm have to do is employ creative transposition to fill in several blanks in George Lucas’ rich yet disorganized tapestry. And who knows, maybe they could craft a conniving Sith father-daughter tale that doesn’t end with them conspiring against each other as they hold a unified goal of conquering to gain galactic dominion and control.
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