"Star Wars: Shadow of Maul" Comic Will Bridge Gap Between "The Clone Wars" and the Upcoming "Maul - Shadow Lord" Animated Series

With infamous Star Wars villain Maul getting his own animated series in 2026, Marvel is releasing a prequel comic book series beginning in March that will serve as a lead-in.

What's Happening:

• With the animated series Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord announced for Disney+, the comic book Star Wars: Shadow of Maul will set the stage for the series over the course of its five issue run. Both the comic and the series are set in the aftermath of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

• Star Wars: Shadow of Maul comes from two Star Wars comic alumni, with writer Benjamin Percy's credits including Star Wars: Darth Maul – Black, White & Red and artist Madibek Musabekov having worked on the recent Star Wars: Jedi Knights series.

• Thanks to Solo, we know Maul's fate will continue to be intertwined with the criminal underworld we saw him join in his post-Darth life on The Clone Wars. Shadow Lord will focus on his next moves after The Clone Wars, which concluded with Maul being freed from captivity by Ahsoka Tano, in a desperate move motivated by the chaos of Order 66. In the comic series, his plan involves rebuilding his criminal syndicate on Janix, a planet untouched by the still-new Empire. Other characters focused on in Shadow of Maul include new faces like Captain Brander Lawson and his partner, the droid Two Boots, who are investigating what's happening on Janix.

•  The official logline reads, "Welcome to Janix, a neon-lit, shadow-soaked maze of a planet that lies beyond the reach of the Empire. Captain Brander Lawson is doing his best to navigate the law in a lawless territory. He’s joined by his partner, a droid nicknamed Two Boots, as they face off against scheming crime bosses...and as the looming threat of the shadow lord, Maul, nears!"
• Star Wars: Shadow of Maul #1 will be released on March 4th, 2026 and features covers by Derrick Chew, AKA, and Björn Barends. Marvel has also released a sneak peek at the interior artwork.

What They're Saying:

• Benjamin Percy: “I've said it before: I'm a giant Star Wars nerd. My previous experience writing in a galaxy far, far away—Darth Maul - Black, White, and Red, Boba Fett - Black, White, and Red—was an absolute delight. But those were one-shots. Flirtations with the franchise. With Shadow of Maul, I'm able to share a more expansive story about one of my favorite characters, while also exploring a fresh angle on the Star Wars universe. This is a sci-fi story, but it's also a crime story. It's a story about cops, criminal syndicates, a neon-lit, shadow-alleyed city that hides many sins and secrets. I'm teamed up with an artist who's already a Star Wars veteran and legend: Madibek Musabeckov. His art is gritty and grounded and perfectly matches the noir tone. We've been in close contact with Lucasfilm—reading scripts and watching episodes of this fantastic new animated series—and our story will serve as a prelude to what viewers will see play out on the screen.”