Since his debut in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Darth Maul has undeniably become a fan-favorite villain in the Star Wars universe. His journey has expanded from the big screen to animated shows like Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, where he developed one of the most intriguing character arcs in the franchise’s history. Now, Maul’s story continues in Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, with Sam Witwer reprising his role as Maul alongside Gideon Adlon as the mysterious new character, Devon Izara. The new animated series dropped exclusively on Disney+ earlier this month, with the finale set for May 4th. 

Animation Scoop had the opportunity to speak with the voice actors about bringing this new chapter of Maul to life. (This Animation Scoop Q&A was edited for length and clarity.)

Haylie Baker: What did you find was the most exciting part of playing your characters in the series? 

Sam Witwer: Working with Gideon.

Gideon Adlon: Joining the Star Wars universe and figuring out who my character is in this world. 

HB: That’s awesome. How would you both describe your characters’ relationship to each other in the series?

SW: Complicated. I think that they are, in some ways, a mirror to each other. And it’s interesting to watch those characters kind of realize that. 

HB: For Gideon, what went into finding the voice for Devon? 

GA: I feel like Devon and I hold a very similar tone. She sits right in my belly. She just kinda came out. 

HB: That makes sense. For Sam, what does it feel like returning to Maul after your previous work on the Clone Wars and Rebels?

SW: Well, challenging. We had to really experiment to find his voice in this particular show because he had a different responsibility. In this case, he had to be one of your protagonists who also happens to fill the role of villain at the same time. To strike that balance was more challenging than I thought it would be, because you play a character for years and years, and you kind of figure you know him. But this was going to be a new version of the character—as is every era of Maul is a different version of the character, and it’s fun to be able to fill in the blanks how he got from one place to another emotionally. 

HB: Right. That leads into my next question. Since Maul is a character we’ve seen evolve over time, how did this development in this series feel? Was any of it surprising to you? 

SW: I’ve been surprised throughout this. Hopefully, the entire series is surprising to fans, but yeah, the entire existence of the series is a surprise to me if I’m being honest. It’s like, I thought before this that we described a very cool character arc for Maul, but to get into his head like this wasn’t something that I thought we would ever do. The fact that Dave was interested in that and going deeper with this character, and then using this character as sort of an earthquake or a natural disaster that all these wonderful new characters would be reacting to, much like Devon, yeah, it’s an interesting concept for a series. 

HB: Yeah, it’s definitely intriguing. For Gideon, in a few words, how would you describe Devon’s character?

GA: Deep, reflective, extremely honest with herself. 

HB: Mhm. That makes sense. For either of you, what was your initial reaction when you first read the script?

SW: I loved it. I thought it was great.

GA: And I was more like, oh my gosh, okay, this is Star Wars. Cause I didn’t know until I was doing a chemistry read. I was like, oh, okay, this is what’s happening. So I was very excited. 

SW: Just to go with that for a second, the fact that you were realizing it was Star Wars the same day you were delivering that audition makes that audition all the more impressive. You totally owned that character, and you would imagine that hearing that this is Star Wars might have knocked you off your pins a little bit. 

GA: It did a bit. But I was also like, I want this so badly. 

HB: That’s amazing. For both of you, was there a scene, moment or line that you especially enjoyed recording? 

SW: All of that, every one of them. 

GA: There’s so many, and I wish I could talk about them and why they mean so much to me. In short detail, without giving anything away, just being able to scream and let go and work with Sam in the room, or Wagner in the room, I feel very thankful to be able to act well. 

HB: While in the recording sessions, did you all often play off of each other’s performances? 

SW: Oh, I would not be able to perform if I didn’t have Gideon to perform with. Everything that we do is informed by each other. So yeah, we are always working together. 

GA: Yeah, completely. That’s completely right. It’s all informed by each other, and it became even more present as the season went on.