One of the best things about Maul: Shadow Lord is its voice cast. Witwer anchors the show with his usual brooding, nuanced, surprisingly human take on the title character, but he’s backed up by a star-studded ensemble. Chris Diamantopoulos, Silicon Valley’s Russ Hanneman, gave a hilarious turn as a crime lord; former president Dennis Haysbert gave a poignant turn as a fugitive Jedi master; Richard Ayoade brought his unmistakable wit and droll delivery style to a police droid; and Gideon Adlon steals the show as a Twi’lek Jedi — she’s clearly inherited her mother’s gift for voice acting.
The crown jewel in Maul: Shadow Lord’s cast is recent Best Actor nominee Wagner Moura. But there’s something about Moura’s Star Wars character that feels familiar.
Maul: Shadow Lord's Lawson Has The Same Dramatic Conflict As Armando In The Secret Agent
Moura plays Brander Lawson, a detective on Janix, and he offers an interesting perspective on the ominous rise of the Empire. Lawson works for local police, a separate entity from the Empire, and so there’s a power struggle and a moral tug-of-war when Imperial forces arrive on Janix and start occupying. In the context of this dazzling animated space opera, Moura gives a grounded, human performance as a good lawman answering to evil superiors. The character felt familiar (in a good way), because he has a similar motivation to the role that just earned Moura his first Academy Award nomination.
At this year’s Oscars ceremony, Moura was nominated for Best Actor for his portrayal of an academic on the run in Kleber Mendonça Filho’s brilliant political thriller The Secret Agent. Moura played Armando, a researcher desperately trying to evade the ruthless Brazilian military dictatorship of the 1970s. Both Armando and Lawson are driven by the same dramatic conflict. In both Maul: Shadow Lord and The Secret Agent, Moura plays a character caught between a rock and a hard place, balancing his responsibilities as a father with his resistance against a fascist regime.
Armando’s revolution against the dictatorship is just and righteous, but it puts his son at risk. Similarly, Lawson hates the Empire, but he’s worried about his kid. He’s like Armando if he was a better father.
Wagner Moura Has Quietly Established Himself As One Of The World's Best Actors
Over the past couple of decades, Moura has quietly established himself as one of the world’s greatest actors. He first broke out as a leading man in Brazil with the Elite Squad movies, and then broke into Hollywood when he appeared alongside Matt Damon in Elysium. Since his career-defining turn humanizing Pablo Escobar in Narcos, Moura has skyrocketed to Oscar nominations and starring roles in big-budget blockbusters.
Moura played one of the lead roles in Alex Garland’s dystopian thriller Civil War, and he proved to be a fine voice actor with his supporting role in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. His role in Maul: Shadow Lord is the latest in a long line of great performances.
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