What Is Maul's Grand Plan In Shadow Lord (And How It Compares To Darth Sidious)

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord episodes 1-2

Few villains in pop culture history are as compelling (or as tragic) as Darth Maul. Once the apprentice to Darth Sidious, it's been pretty remarkable to see how the former Sith Lord's Star Wars story has developed beyond what seemed like a conclusive death in 1999's The Phantom Menace. 27 years later, we're finally seeing a major unseen chapter of Maul's dark journey with Maul - Shadow Lord.

Thanks to Lucasfilm's brand-new Shadow Lord series, we're now seeing the dawn of Maul's "Grand Plan" and his designs for the galaxy far, far away during the early Age of the Empire. Having made his return in Clone Wars and receiving his ultimate true end in Rebels, Shadow Lord is finally giving us the chapters in between, revealing what Maul originally had planned...and likely how it all fell apart in the face of his old master's power.

Seeking to rebuild what he's lost, here's a full breakdown of what Maul's ambitions were during The Clone Wars, what we're now seeing the former Sith Lord working toward in Maul - Shadow Lord, and how it compares to the designs of his old master, Darth Sidious.

During The Clone Wars, Maul Had The Shadow Collective

Maul’s first attempt at gaining new power began shortly after his resurrection in The Clone Wars animated series. Rescued by his long-lost brother, Savage Opress, Maul's mind was restored by Mother Talzin and the Nightsisters of Dathomir. Maul was also given new cybernetic legs, replacing the robotic spider-body he'd built during his years of exile on the junk world Lotho Minor.

Taking Savage as his new apprentice, Maul set his sights on revenge. Moving through the galaxy's criminal underworld, Maul and Savage allied with Pre Vizsla and the Mandalorian Death Watch before coercing several major criminal syndicates to join their Shadow Collective. This included major underworld organizations like Black Sun, The Pykes, and Crimson Dawn. While an attempt was made to ally with the Hutt clans, Maul was ultimately rejected by Jabba and his fellow Hutt gangters.

Nevertheless, the Shadow Collective was used to take over Mandalore in a bid to draw out Obi-Wan Kenobi. After murdering Pre Vizsla and claiming the legendary Darksaber, Maul gained even more power with the Death Watch recognizing his authority. Maul also killed the Duchess of Mandalore to make Kenobi suffer.

However, the entire Shadow Collective fell apart once Kenobi escaped, and Darth Sidious arrived on Mandalore. Recognizing that his old apprentice had become a rival, Sidious killed Savage and took Maul prisoner.

Although Maul escaped and was featured in the Siege of Mandalore arc in the final episodes of The Clone Wars animated series, the Shadow Collective had largely ended after the former Sith was defeated and captured by Ahsoka Tano in the events leading up to Revenge of the Sith. During those episodes, Maul had been trying to draw out Anakin Skywalker to kill him and change the galaxy's fate out of Sidious' favor, having received a vision about the Chosen One's role in his old master's plans.

Maul's New "Grand Plan" Is Revealed In Shadow Lord

Now, Maul - Shadow Lord sees the former Sith apprentice starting over once again in the shadows of his master's Empire, learning from his past and seeking to remain there as long as possible until he's ready to strike.

Confirming in the first two episodes of Shadow Lord that he does indeed have a "Grand Plan", it looks as though Maul's designs similarly start with revenge, seeking vengeance first on the syndicate leaders who betrayed him before rebuilding his power base to then go after Sidious (and eventually Kenobi).

Targeting syndicate leaders and pitting them against each other, it's clear that Maul is playing a large-scale game of manipulation on the seedy world of Janix. At the same time, he's also seeking a new apprentice in Shadow Lord, knowing full well that he'll need the power of a new pupil if he ever wants to one day defeat his master, just as Sith masters and apprentices have done for millennia in the Star Wars galaxy.

The Prequels Were The Fulfillment Of Darth Sidious' Grand Plan

All that said, it's going to be fascinating (and tragic) to see how Maul's new ambitions clash with the fulfillment of Sidious' designs. After all, Palpatine had his own "Grand Plan" aligned with the 1,000-year designs of the Sith to one day claim their revenge.

For decades, Sidious carefully orchestrated events behind the scenes. As Palpatine, he manipulated the Galactic Senate, engineered political crises, and positioned himself as a trusted leader who was given more and more power during the Clone Wars, secretly controlling both sides and eventually transforming the Republic into his very own Galactic Empire.

By corrupting Anakin Skywalker as Darth Vader, Sidious also brought about the downfall of the Jedi Order, with everything culminating in Revenge of the Sith.

Sidious very much played the long game. While Maul is just as cunning as Sidious, it can be argued that he's always been far too driven by his obsession for revenge to be patient enough to see those plans fulfilled. After all, we know how Maul's story ends: in the deserts of Tatooine with a final battle against Kenobi after years of rage-filled obsession. He's going to lose all the power and influence we're now seeing him try to build.

Seeing Maul become the Maul we see in Rebels without a significant power base (and why that happened) is going to be fascinating to watch unfold as Shadow Lord continues. Without a doubt, it was more than likely the result of Maul's Grand Plan clashing with the established power of his old master, who has already succeeded in his own Grand Plan.

Maul is inevitably going to fail in his grand designs, but that journey is going to be all kinds of exciting with every new episode of Shadow Lord.

New episodes of Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord release Mondays on Disney+.