Sam Witwer On Darth Maul's Evolution In 'Shadow Lord'

by Andrew FirrioloBuzzFeedBuzzFeed StaffI’m a pop-culture writer covering everything from TV and movies, to music, Broadway, books, and games.

From the moment Darth Maul ignited his double-bladed lightsaber in The Phantom Menace, he became one of the most unforgettable characters in Star Wars.

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A core childhood memory for me is sitting in the theater, watching Maul battle Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, completely awestruck. Years later, I was elated to see Maul return in Clone Wars, then Rebels, and now in Shadow Lord.

Star Wars fans were introduced to Sam Witwer in 2008's The Force Unleashed, where he delivered a career-defining performance as Starkiller. Sam brought a rare intensity to Starkiller, and now to Maul, with Shadow Lord painting the iconic Zabrak in a whole new light.

Sam is truly one of the most genuine, fun people to chat with, and I knew it would be a great conversation when he saw my Shadow Lord Zoom background and said, "You gotta watch out — Maul's right behind you!"

It was a true honor to hear from Sam about what he's most excited for in Shadow Lord, and Maul's evolution into one of Star Wars' most complex villains.

Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity, and is spoiler-free — but does discuss some plot points of the first two episodes at a very high level.

When you heard about Shadow Lord, what excited you the most about returning as Maul?

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Sam: At first, I was thinking, "How are we going to do that?" I don't think anyone had a taste for making a show about a guy just doing awful things to people. That's a little bit of a bummer. But when I thought about it, I was like, "There's absolutely potential for Maul to be filled with internal conflict that would be suitably dramatic."

When I saw [developer] Matt Michnovetz's scripts, it suddenly became clear to me. We also have all these other wonderful characters that just fill across the entire moral spectrum — so, yes, we could make a Star Wars show where one of the points of view is, in fact, Darth Maul.

It's easy to say, "Let's do a Darth Maul show." It's difficult executing that and making a show that that George [Lucas] might be proud of, or that Dave [Filoni] would accept.

Thankfully, Dave had a very clear vision for how this would go. [Director] Brad [Rau]'s execution has been spectacular. He's an extraordinary filmmaker. Matt's scripts have been a roller coaster ride of energy and excitement and conflict, and then we have [producer] Athena Portillo, who's like our general. It's an incredible group.

You portray Maul with such depth and emotion. How do you get into his headspace?

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Sam: I know Maul pretty well, but I have to admit that it took a little while to figure out how to play him in Shadow Lord. It took a second because it couldn't be exactly the same as Clone Wars Maul or Rebels Maul. You're always creating a new version of the character.

It's about making sure that these moments are truthful and surprising. It really helps when you have an actor like Gideon [Adlon, who voices Devon] opposite you — constantly surprising you with these wonderful performances, these wonderful emotional releases that spur you on to surprise yourself with what the character says.

Maul is such a complex character. I'd love to hear your analysis — how does he view himself coming into Shadow Lord?

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Sam: Maul views everything that he's doing as entirely necessary and perhaps the only rational thing to do. The problem is that he's been raised by the Emperor — that's who gave him his moral code, who gave him the tools he uses to deal with the world.

Maul sees himself, I believe, as a potential liberator for the galaxy. However, the first thing he must do in order to liberate the galaxy is kill a bunch of people. For Maul, that was built into his upbringing. The Emperor taught him that if ever anyone crosses you in any way, their demise must be very public so that no one thinks they could try that on you.

If you're going to do a story about Maul, the beginning of the Galactic Empire is the time to do it. At this point, Maul understands that Sidious is the source of not only his suffering, but the suffering of the entire galaxy. Everywhere he looks, he sees the Emperor's hand. If there were ever some rebellious urges inside Maul, this is the time.

And to make matters more complex for Maul, another key character in Shadow Lord is Devon.

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Sam: That's right. Coming out of the war, Maul has had many people abandon him. As he's putting his crew back together, he meets someone that reminds him very much of himself at a young age — and that is the key relationship for him throughout this series.

He knows how to talk to her, because this is what he would have said to himself. These are the concerns that he had. He was trained to be a Sith, but never got to b