Maul – Shadow Lord is almost here, the hype is in full effect and here we get the chance to hear from two of the leads from the show – Sam Witwer and Gideon Adlon – as they look at their respective characters and where we find them in this exciting new show. First, Witwer on returning to the role of Maul.
Witwer brings more than a decade of experience voicing Maul to the role, and the intensity of an actor who has worked with Filoni to explore Maul’s interior life. “I feel like I know this guy pretty well at this point,” Witwer says, using The Lord of the Rings’ Gollum and Sméagol as a touchstone to understanding Maul on an emotional level. “He has the same type of feelings that you and I have, but he doesn’t have the tools to express those. All he has in front of him are supervillain tools.”
Lucky for Maul, he has the leadership qualities to keep a small collective loyal to his cause. “He is charismatic, amazingly powerful, and talented,” Filoni adds. “These are all appealing things.”
Add to that a changing galaxy, now under the iron fist of the Empire. “It’s shortly after the conclusion of the Clone Wars and he’s in a place of reassessment,” Witwer says. “He doesn’t know which end is up. It’s a time of change in this Star Wars galaxy.”
With just a brief role in Young Jedi Adventures on her Star Wars CV, Gideon Adlon talks young Jedi Devon Izara.
“Devon Izara is a Jedi in a post-Order 66 world and she is filled with angst,” Adlon says. “She’s a teenage girl living in a world where she’s trying to decipher right from wrong.”
Like Maul, her character’s relatability has been resonating with the cast and crew. “Everyone in the room and the [recording] booth has been relating to Devon, which is very special,” Adlon says. “She makes me feel like I’m doing what I should be doing. Because of the things I’ve been through as a young girl, when I was a teenager, and as a woman, she came very easy to me. I feel like she’s like my sister. We’re very much a part of each other.”
Rau notes that Adlon was a fast learner. “Gideon is a rising star,” Rau says. “She’s really powerful in the role of Devon and the way that she works with all of the different cast members and you see her arc through the season is pretty awesome.”
