Star Wars series, and if it does well, I have the perfect follow-up. Announced at Star Wars Celebration 2025, Maul: Shadow Lord is set to release next year as an animated series starring Palpatine's first apprentice, one of the most popular Star Wars villains of all time. However, there are plenty of other villains in the galaxy far, far away who deserve a similar spotlight as well.

Following The Phantom Menace, it was revealed that Maul survived his fall and being cut in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi. Fueled by nothing but his rage for years, Maul's mind and body were restored during the Clone Wars, where he began accumulating power in the galactic underworld and briefly took over Mandalore. Running the crime syndicate Crimson Dawn during the Empire's reign, Maul was eventually slain during his rematch with Kenobi on Tatooine just before the original trilogy. Now, Shadow Lord is set to reveal an unseen chapter of Maul's life, though I know exactly which villain deserves similar treatment: General Grievous.

Maul: Shadow Lord Will Reveal A Never-Before-Seen Chapter

Set During The Dark Times With Crimson Dawn

Exclusive footage for Maul: Shadow Lord was shown to attendees at Star Wars Celebration 2025. In it, it's confirmed that the animated series will be set a year following the Clone Wars during the early days of the Empire's reign. This means that we'll likely witness the dawn of Crimson Dawn itself, and how Maul maintained power from the shadows of the galaxy's criminal underworld.

It's also been confirmed that Maul will seemingly take on his own apprentice, a young Twi'lek girl who's shown in the footage to be Force-sensitive. This is very exciting, as George Lucas' original vision for the sequels was for Maul to be the primary villain with Darth Talon as his apprentice, a popular Twi'lek character who's since become part of Star Wars' non-canonical Legends. Maul voice actor Sam Witwer has also promised that many elements cut from his Clone Wars and Rebels appearances will be incorporated now that Maul finally has his own show.

Star Wars Needs To Do The Same Thing For General Grievous

Before Grievous Became A Cyborg

A Star Wars villain getting his own show is a big first for the franchise. It's a concept that I certainly hope continues, as General Grievous absolutely deserves something similar. The leader of the Separatist Droid Army, General Grievous wasn't always a cyborg. A Kaleesh warlord originally named Qymaen jai Sheelal, Grievous' hatred for the Jedi Order originated before his association with Count Dooku, as the Jedi once intervened in a conflict between his people and their rivals from a nearby world. Combined with his great skill as a warrior and leader, his potential was noticed by Dooku and Palpatine.

Eventually agreeing to become the leader of the Droid Army, Grievous gradually accepted various cybernetic enhancements from Dooku, as well as lightsaber combat training to help him kill Jedi. However, the Count also secretly sabotaged Grievous' shuttle, leading to the need for life-saving cybernetics. This allowed Dooku and Palpatine to better control Grievous, while also turning him into an unwitting test subject and prototype for the future operations, cybernetics, and life- systems used for Darth Vader.

However, all this great backstory for Grievous has only been teased on screen, coming mainly from encyclopedias and visual guides. With that in mind, it would be very exciting to finally see Grievous getting a similar treatment as Maul, receiving his very own series to shed light on this early period that not enough Star Wars fans are familiar with. After all, Grievous' pre-cyborg Kaleesh warlord look is surprisingly a currently available Fortnite skin during the game's annual Star Wars season, which will likely lead to new engagements regarding his dynamic past in the Star Wars canon.

Maul: Shadow Lord is set to begin streaming next year on Disney+.