Highlights From The ‘Maul: Shadow Lord’ Panel At Fan Expo Chicago 2026

The Cast Of Maul: Shadow Lord

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I once again attended Fan Expo Chicago a few weeks ago. I got to meet Jared Padalecki of Supernatural fame and also attended his panel he did with Mark Sheppard. I also got to attend the Maul: Shadow Lord panel, that containedSam Witwer and Vanessa Marshall, Matthew Wood, and David Williams. They talked about the first season and also what makes Maul such a great character.

The panel started with Sam Witwer being asked about what is it the fans like about Maul. Sam made it explicitly clear that if they were going to bring back Maul,  they can’t just do the same thing they’ve been doing; otherwise, there’s no point. He’s a character that’s hard to get right, and you can’t just put him on screen. So he started chiming in about what needed to be done to keep him vibrant and new, because if you’re not trying to explore the character in a new way, then don’t call it Maul.

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Since the show is animated, they all lend their voices to their respective characters. Matthew Wood was over the moon to join the project and loves Sam and Maul. David then chimes in and mentions how important Matthew Wood has been to Star Wars, as he’s been involved in both the gaming and sound design in the franchise. ‘

The Cast Of Maul: Shadow Lord

Image Source: CultureSlate

Vanessa Marshall was so happy to bring Rook back. Originally, Vanessa said that she was content with what she did with the character and could “die happy”;Filoni, however, had other plans, and it was an honor to explore the character more. 

When David came up with the voice for Spybot, it originally started as a gibberish combo, with half droid and half English, with the English coming out like Peter Lorre. He also mentioned that The Force Unleashedvideo game was the first project he and Sam worked on, and he was honored to bring some levity and comic relief to the show. Sam chimed in and said that Spybot was a blank slate and that David had to figure it out. When he recorded it, it was originally just beeps and boops, and he eventually realized there was an actual storytelling opportunity, and it emerged into what it is now. David said that he would always make a couple of different options of what Spybot could say. 

The Force Unleashed was a game where Sam Witwer voiced Starkiller, where you hunt down surviving Jedi while also uncovering the Empire’s larger plot. It was lucky enough to get a sequel, but the series was never rounded out with a third game. A fan asked at the panel how the third game would’ve wrapped up the series if it was ever made. Sam said it was all about how Vader got his mojo back. It started with the trial ofVader, with the Rebels converging on one location to bring him to justice. Eventually, Boba Fett shows up, but is unable to stop them. Vader is not happy with this, and eventually has Vader chasing Boba Fett across the galaxy. Later, David mentions that he slid Sam's headshot into a pile for the role of Starkiller, because he thought Sam looked just like him. Sam got an audition and knew once he walked out that that was the guy for the role. They had a great time making the game. 

The Cast Of Maul: Shadow Lord

Image Source: CultureSlate

There were some more fan questions that I won’t go into all of them, but my favorite one was which other timeline would the characters do well in? Sam said Maul would do well in the Tales Of The Jediseries, whereas Spybot would work at Dex’s Diner. Vanessa said that she doesn’t see Rook or Hera in another place, and not even them switching places. Battle droids have been in every timeline, and Matthew mentions he was the voice of the air traffic controller in The Mandalorian and Grogu, and it was recorded at Anthony Daniels' house, and he even has a little cameo.

Maul is one of my all-time favorite Star Wars characters, so it was great to see the cast of Maul: Shadow Lord come together and talk about the show. I admire how passionate Sam Witwer is about Star Wars, and there’s truly nobody better to voice Maul.

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