“Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord” would not function a complete lot of recurring characters we have seen in earlier “Star Wars” animated sequence, however it does carry again loads of voices you have heard earlier than. In truth, the present marks a reunion nearly 20 years within the making.
Certainly, co-stars Sam Witwer and David W. Collins — who voice Maul and Spybot in “Shadow Lord,” respectively — bought their begin collectively on one other fan-favorite “Star Wars” property as a very totally different darkish aspect consumer and droid duo. You see, they voiced Darth Vader’s secret apprentice Starkiller and his droid companion Proxy within the pre-Disney, best-selling, 2008 console online game “Star Wars: The Drive Unleashed.”
Earlier than Shadow Lord, Sam Witwer and David W. Collins labored on the Drive Unleashed video games
As Starkiller and Proxy, Sam Witwer and David W. Collins had been the celebs of two of the most well-liked “Star Wars” video video games ever produced: “The Drive Unleashed” and its 2010 sequel, “The Drive Unleashed II.” Set through the darkish instances previous to “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope,” they inform the story of Vader’s secret apprentice, whom Vader needs to make use of to overthrow Emperor Palpatine and produce a brand new order to the galaxy. Sadly, a deliberate third “Drive Unleashed” sport was canceled earlier than it may advance past the early levels of growth.
Occasionally, the prospect of a brand new “Drive Unleashed” sport will get rumored as half of the present canon, with Starkiller himself having practically been made into an Inquisitor for the animated sequence “Star Wars Rebels.” Nevertheless, given how a lot of the “Star Wars” timeline between “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith” and “A New Hope” has since been crammed in, recreating the story would probably show problematic.
After all, “Shadow Lord” is way from the one “Star Wars” challenge that Witwer and Collins have labored on because the “Drive Unleashed” video games. Collins, you see, is not only a voice actor; he is additionally a supervising sound designer and recording mixer for Skywalker Sound, having recorded voices and ADR for numerous “Star Wars” reveals and movies. In the meantime, Witwer has accomplished (sometimes uncredited) voice work on live-action sequence like “Skeleton Crew” and “Andor,” along with voicing Maul in a number of animated sequence and “Solo: A Star Wars Story” (the place he changed Maul’s authentic live-action voice actor, Peter Serafinowicz).
How Spybot matches into the world of Shadow Lord
“Shadow Lord” sees Sam Witwer reprising his function because the titular former Sith lord, Maul. As Darth Sidious’ forsaken apprentice seeks revenge in opposition to those that left him for lifeless within the wake of the Siege of Mandalore (as seen within the remaining season of “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”), he surrounds himself with a staff of allies that stay loyal to him.
Among the many new additions to Maul’s entourage on the present is David W. Collins’ Spybot. True to his title, the character is kind of helpful. Not solely does he spy on Maul’s enemies throughout the planet Janix (the place “Shadow Lord” begins its story), however he fulfills the entire regular features of a droid, too. From slicing into pc terminals to creating all method of distractions, Spybot usually does his job with a twisted cackle, as skillfully supplied by Collins. For now, although, we’ll have to attend and see if he will get to do greater than that because the present progresses.
New episodes of “Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord” launch two at a time on Mondays on via to Could 4, 2026, on Disney+.
