The Nerdist

Maul: Shadow Lord does a whole lot more than just fill in a big gap in the former Sith apprentice’s story. The show pushes Star Wars animation to a whole new level. Why was it important to Lucasfilm to raise the bar on its animated side? What were some of the inspirations behind its incredible aesthetics and tone? And why was Darth Maul worthy of being the vessel to make that happen? How will the show balance having making Maul sympathetic but not a hero? To find out, Nerdist spoke to three of the most important people behind the scenes of Maul: Shadow Lord, executive producer Athena Portillo, head writer Matt Michnovetz, and supervising director Brad Rau.

Note: We conducted this interview before Disney announced the show will get a second season.

Nerdist: Why was this exact Star Wars story, this missing chapter of Darth Maul’s life, worth giving the character his own show in Maul: Shadow Lord?

Matt Michnovetz: Dave (Filoni) came to me with an idea, and we had a great conversation, and we just spun off from there. We wanted to create a story set in this time period with Maul and some new characters that was just a shot of adrenaline, a rollercoaster ride, a thrill ride, about difficult times for interesting characters faced with unique challenges that we hadn’t told before.

Lucasfilm

Maul has become a standout character in Star Wars, almost entirely because of the animation side. Why do you think he’s resonated so much with fans as they’ve gotten to see more of his story?

Athena Portillo: He’s a complicated, conflicted character. Also, we tend to resonate with him in the sense that he’s made mistakes. He’s lost certain things in his life that have been important to him, like a mother, a brother. So we empathize with that piece of it. What we don’t empathize with is how he goes about getting those emotions out by way of revenge.

Michnovetz: No big deal. A little revenge. (Portillo laughs) I think we can all identify with some of his mistakes. Plus, Sam (Witwer longtime voice of Maul) is amazing. So charming and charismatic. So good.

Lucasfilm

I don’t want to give too many spoilers away about Maul: Shadow Lord, but any worry about making him almost too sympathetic with this show?

Brad Rau: We talked about it a lot. A lot of it went into the tone of the show. We call it a “pulpy noir,” so the action can be a little heightened. We didn’t want it to get too dark and gritty, because it could quickly go down that road. You’ve only seen up to episode eight, right?

Yeah, I have not seen the last two. (Note: Disney only gave us screeners for the first eight episodes.)

Rau: So there’s a lot going on in the last two. There’s a lot going on. And there are a few things that happen on purpose to shed a very clear light. This is not a good guy. He’s doing bad things. And that was really important. We had to make sure that that was really clear.

Lucasfilm

I’m genuinely blown away by how good this Darth Maul series looks. There are sequences so realistic you can forget you’re watching animation. Obviously, you always want your show to look the best it can, but why the commitment to making this show, Maul: Shadow Lord, look so cinematic and downright expensive?

Portillo: Thank you for saying that. So before Filoni went to shoot Ahsoka season two, he basically said, “I really want you to focus on elevating the sophistication and cinematic quality of this show.” He said, “Do whatever it takes to get there,” kind of thing. And because we’ve been working with the same leadership for the past 20 years almost, everybody was up for the challenge.

Some of the things we wanted to incorporate was that old school way of doing things by way of building practical models. Oil on canvas, map paintings, brush strokes on glass paints, getting those shot and incorporating them into the show. We also created a new post-process for the show for polishing purposes, something we hadn’t done previously, per se. Per se would be like the color grades. This time it was color grade and adding the extra camera shakes, adding the extra vignetting.

Filoni had called out how much he loved the backgrounds, that it just looked like a paint quality/noir kind of look. We had a lot of influence from (artist) Jeremy Mann’s Cityscapes, Blade Runner, even old school John Singer Sargent for the textures. It was very challenging, but a lot of fun. I just thought it was great. I love it.

Lucasfilm

What did Lucasfilm, Disney, and all of you, the people who made the show, learn about the future of animated Star Wars series from Maul: Shadow Lord?

Portillo: That we’re up for the challenge. That we could create any type of aesthetic as long as you allow us to. We’re always developing new tools, new methodologies, and new efficiencies. And just keeping certain episodes open so that we could then go back into them and polish those up.

Rau: Yeah. Sky’s the limit.

Lucasfilm

Maul: Shadow Lord utilizes everyone’s favorite recurring Star Wars bit, secret Jedi survivors of Order 66! Was there ever any worry about revealing even more Jedi, who, it turns out, were in hiding after the fall of the Republic?

Michnovetz: No, I don’t think so. I mean, we’re not too far after Order 66. So I think it’s more inconceivable that they were all wiped out all of a sudden. So it was important that we tell this story. And again, we don’t know what our new characters’ fates are. And they were the right characters at the right time for this particular time period and the challenges that they face. It’s a big galaxy.

Rau: And it’s also one reason we wanted to create a brand new location that you haven’t seen before. That’s where sometimes it can feel that we’re treading on old territory. We wanted all new and vibrant. Everything we’re talking about, the characters and the style, the way we filmed it, the music, everything, we want it to feel new and fresh and vibrant so that you can just go along for the ride.

Lucasfilm

I want to come back to the new planet, but I do have a quick follow-up. Was there any consideration into using known Order 66 survivors, especially because this show is not shy about pulling from characters that are a part of the expanded universe?

Michnovetz: We discussed everything. Everything was on the table. But we were primarily concentrated on creating new characters whose fates were unknown and being able to tell stories that we hadn’t told before with them.

As you said, new planet, the show takes place on Janix. It looks a lot like Coruscant, but over the course of the first season, you really learn all the meaningful ways it’s different. What other locations, real or fictional, Star Wars or otherwise, inspired Janix on Maul: Shadow Lord?

Rau: We always look heavily at real-life references of places. We were in Chiba, Japan for Star Wars Celebration last year. Athena was on stage. It was awesome. And Mattie and I went to Golden Gai in Tokyo, and that (area) definitely. We were snapping photos, and there are parts of Janix that look like Golden Gai from our crazy adventures there.

Portillo: In terms of the real world, a few of us went to Kyoto, and we witnessed the tea ceremony. Sam took a lot of what he learned in that and executed that through his performance in episode three.

Rau: We try to bring in grounded real-world references, but also make things crazy and strange. You see Maul’s safe house is in an old abandoned rail station, essentially. So we used a lot of turn-of-the-century New York subway references for that. I mean, there’s so much reference in Janix. Really, the big thing is we wanted it to be a character of its own. So, not just a backdrop, but to have this vibrant feeling to it, the way it sounds, the way it looks, the food, the chicken parm in the first episode. We wanted it to feel real. As real as possible. (everyone laughs)

Maul: Shadow Lord premieres at Disney+ on April 6, 2026.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. He would like to eat the animated chicken parm. You can follow him on Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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We all need a good vacation from time to time. There’s nothing like a relaxing retreat to melt away the stress of life for a moment. For some of us, that perfect getaway is a long weekend at the beach. For others, it’s reconnecting with nature in the mountains. What if I told you there’s one camping trip out there that’s right up our nerdy alley? Millbrooke Realmquest fuses tabletop gaming with live-action role-play in a daring new experience that let’s you take a real-life Dungeons & Dragons vacation.

Saddle Snaps

Close your eyes and imagine for a moment. The pitter-patter of hooves as you embark on a quest upon horseback. You sniff out a mysterious incident at a royal wedding tournament. Back at camp, fellow travelers gather around a fire to share their findings. This is what’s waiting for you at camp. Millbrooke Realmquest’s live-action D&D experience is a weekend-long getaway where players can play through a real-life campaign. It’s a vacation like no other.

The experience fuses elements of tabletop gameplay with live-action role-play. Activities include camping, rituals, tournaments, archery competitions, tarot card readings, and escape room-style puzzles. Expert DMs host each activity. Campers can also visit an on-site tavern to grab a pint—and maybe even a quest from the barkeep. The experience seems to blend the beauty of a Ren Faire with the magic of D&D. What a delightful combo.

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The weekend-long event takes place from May 1 to 3 at Millbrook Trails in Newark, Illinois. Tickets are $500 and include two horseback quests. If you feel called to quest on your own two feet, rather than by horse, you can purchase a ticket for $400 without any riding. Millbrooke Realmquest scatters player across three camps, each with their own unique lore. All meals are included with the ticket. Tents are available to rent for $50, though adventurers are encouraged to bring their own camping gear.

Millbrook Trail Rides

For avid D&D players, it’s easy to get totally absorbed in a good campaign. So much so that it feels real. This unique camping experience truly does blur those lines between reality and role-playing adventure. It’s a vacation all of us who yearn to quest can stand by. You can sign up for your D&D-inspired vacation at the Saddle Snaps website.

The post This D&D-Themed Vacation Lets You Quest on Horseback appeared first on Nerdist.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is already breaking box office records left and right. Fans of the animated Nintendo adaptation, both young and old, are flocking to movie theaters. One reason the first movie became so popular is that Jack Black’s song “Peaches,” which he performed as Bowser, became a viral hit in 2023. Now, Jack Black has debuted a new Super Mario song, only it’s not in the actual Super Mario Galaxy Movie movie. Wait, what?? Via the folks at IGN, we learned that Jack Black performed this new Mario song on The Tonight Show. And he did it playing a guitar in King Koopa garb (of course). You can watch the clip of the new song right here:

Jack Black’s silly little ditty has backing vocals, if we can call them that. They’re performed by co-stars Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Brie Larson, Charlie Day, and Donald Glover. Below are the lyrics to Jack Black’s new Super Mario song. We imagine there’s got to be some of you out there who wish to perform it at karaoke or something.

There once was a man named Mario, yes you know who I mean/He had a brother, Luigi, who was always wearing green/ There was also Princess Peach, who made my heart explode/But they defeated me with the help of a tiny little mushroom man named Toad/They locked me up and shrunk me down/ oh Bowser he was done/ But now they’re facing Bowser Jr., and he is my son/ Oh, Mario and Luigi are now in outer space/And Peach and Toad and Rosalina are all up in my face/ But me and Bowser Jr. will get Mario once more, but Yoshi is now in their crew/he’s a cool little freaky dinosaur/ It’s Super Mario/ in the Star-io/ He’ll be going far-io/ In reality, all his pals and he, they will bow to me, in the galaxy.

NBC

It’s hard to believe they couldn’t find a way to fit this new Jack Black song into The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Not even in the credits? Especially after “Peaches” became such a breakout hit. But at least thisb bop lives on late-night television and on the internet. Maybe we’ll just have to wait for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Special Edition to hear it in the movie.

The post Jack Black Sings New SUPER MARIO Song (That’s NOT in the Movie) appeared first on Nerdist.

It’s almost time. Soon, NASA’s Artemis II moon mission will enter its Lunar Flyby phase, where we’ll actually be able to see the moon. During the Lunar Flyby, NASA’s Artemis II moon mission will officially take its astronauts farther into space than any other humans have ever been. NASA shares, “On Monday, April 6, the four astronauts of Artemis II will travel farther from Earth than any humans in history—breaking the record set by Apollo 13 in 1970. They’ll sail around the far side of the Moon, photographing lunar features never before seen by human eyes. At their closest point, they’ll pass roughly 4,000 miles above the lunar surface.” And unlike in the days of yore, we can be there for every small step and giant leap. Tune into the official YouTube live stream below and join these astronauts and thousands all over the world, as we get glimpses of the moon and space that we’ve never seen before.

Just thinking about the scope of this moon mission is awe-inspiring. Those participating in this adventure will see visions literally never seen before by human eyes. And thanks to the live stream, we can journey to the deepest depths of space and glimpse the moon ourselves. As NASA shares, the Artemis II’s trip will include a look at the dark side of the moon and lunar features that human eyes have never witnessed. Potentially, this mission sets the stage for another moon landing in the near future.

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NASA shares highlights of the moon mission/lunar flyby live stream include:

• 1:56 p.m. EDT (1756 UTC): Artemis II crew surpasses the Apollo 13 distance record
• 2:45 p.m. EDT (1845 UTC): Lunar observation period begins
• 6:47 p.m. EDT (2247 UTC): Predicted loss of communications as Artemis II heads behind the moon (roughly 40 minutes)
• 7:02 p.m. EDT (2302 UTC): Artemis II’s closest approach to the Moon
• 7:05 p.m. EDT (2305 UTC): Artemis II reaches its furthest distance from Earth

NASA

I feel shivers just thinking about it! You can also watch NASA’s constant Artemis II moon mission live stream here.

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We’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. Actor Mark Hamill is a national treasure. Not only for his iconic role in the Star Wars saga as Luke Skywalker, but also for his decades of voice roles in animation. And now, Mark Hamill is lending his voice as the LEGO Group’s Junior Executive Director of Information (J.E.D.I.), ready to answer their burning questions about LEGO’s new SMART Play sets.

LEGO’s new SMART Play sets are the first interactive, screen-free sets from the legendary toy company. Mark Hamill will take on the role of fans’ personal guide to the world of LEGO Star Wars SMART Play sets, revealing all the cool secrets behind this new technology that lets the galaxy play back. We had the opportunity to chat with Mark Hamill about his new role in the LEGO galaxy, as well as his fifty-year legacy as one of sci-fi’s most iconic heroes.

LEGO

NERDIST: So this month marks 50 years since the original Star Wars started shooting. What do you remember most from those first days when no one knew what was coming? Back when it was just a movie, and not the movie that would change film history?

MARK HAMILL: Well, I always thought when I read the script, I couldn’t believe how original it was, how funny it was. I loved the humor, and just how effortlessly feminist it was. You know, the princess wasn’t a shrinking violet. She mouthed off to Vader, straight to his face. She took over her own rescue, and made Han and Luke look like chumps. I thought it was so original, and the very first day when I went up to Robert Watson’s office, the production manager, he said, What do you think about what we’re about to start? I said, “I think we’re on a winner,” I was always a fan of fantasy and science fiction. Especially with the added humor.

Lucasfilm

The bonus about Star Wars is that it was so loved, and [back then] people couldn’t own it on video. But there were all the toys, there were all the action figures. And now, you’ve got LEGO too. You can own a piece of Star Wars. And the only limits are your imagination. Anything you can think of, you can do with LEGO.

What’s your history with LEGO? Is there a favorite set you bought for your kids, or for yourself even?

The LEGO Group

I bought them for my kids. I’m remembering them not being specifically tied to a certain title. They were generic in the sense that you could build whatever you wanted. And it was interesting because you see the difference between what [Hamill’s oldest son] Nathan wanted to build as opposed to what Griffin wanted to build, or sometimes they’d collaborate and build them together. And that’s the thing. They’re multigenerational, because I was playing with them as they were playing with them. You can play with your grandparents, or you can play with your little brother. There’s no sort of age limit on LEGO. It’s for everyone.

Yeah, certainly a lot of adults love and collect LEGO, I think, more than kids now, even. After playing the Jedi Luke, what can you tell us about playing “Junior Executive Director of Information,” a.k.a. JEDI?

The LEGO Group

What’s that like? Well, I love that they gave me an actual title. [Hamill holds up a desk placard that says “J.E.D.I.”] I’m gonna ask you if I can keep it. Listen, I had to warn them. I said that in a way, the LEGO people know more about Star Wars than I do, the specifics. Because I see the movies when they come out, but I don’t go back and watch them again. So whenever the last one [The Rise of Skywalker] came out, was it in 2019? I haven’t seen it since. But [LEGO] knows its stuff. They started sending material, a package of their concept and the execution of what they’ve made, and I was astonished.

The LEGO Group

I mean, it’s incredible. They are really well-made. They’re toys that span the generations. And it’s so imaginative too. Back in the day, when we were playing with LEGO, it was up to us, whatever we wanted to build. But, it’s like I haven’t really followed the history of LEGO in that sense, I don’t know whether they’ve done this with other franchises, but I’m sure glad that they hooked up with Star Wars people because they’re just great toys.

Well, Star Wars and LEGO kind of go together like peanut butter and jelly, you know? Since you’re providing the voice of J.E.D.I., so to speak, I have to remind folks, this isn’t your first vocal performance for Star Wars. Aside from Luke, you’ve done a bunch of characters, and you got nominated for a Daytime Emmy for playing Sith Lord Darth Bane. How is it that they have never followed up on that? They’ve never given you more animated roles in Star Wars. There should at least be a Darth Bane animated movie or something.

Yeah, I was nominated for Darth Bane. But I only ever won [a voice acting award] for a show that no one’s ever heard of, Eleanor of Avalon. And one reason I think I won is that it was a character whose head spun around, and he had four different personalities, and they gave me this great song. So I really am grateful to Disney for that. Do you know what’s interesting? Here’s a good bar bet. Say, “Mark Hamill won an Emmy for a voiceover. What did he win it for?” Everyone will say the Joker, right? But I was never nominated for that.

Lucasfilm

Anyway, I’m not into the awards. I think it was all for the money [laughs]. Look, I set my career goals very early. When I started, all I ever wanted to be was a working stiff. You know, supporting characters, TV, movies, cartoons, whatever. I just wanted to be able to make a living, doing what I love, and I was so grateful even before anything happened that made me well known. To be able to go from the year 1970, getting my first job, to getting Star Wars in 1976? And I was really happy in those six years. I got to do so many things.

So this new LEGO SMART Play feature is very, very cool. Did you ever imagine that toys would get to this point of interactive technology?

The LEGO Group

Technology keeps improving and, you know, I keep asking my kids, “When did phones come in? When did computers come in? When was the internet?” Because you lose track of time when you’re as old as I am. And like I say, my concept of LEGO was, you know, all the bricks you need. You could buy specialized sets if you wanted to build a specific thing. But it’s amazing how they have incorporated the most modern technology. Now they have these things called a SMART Brick, that you place into the toy, and… look at what it does. [Several Star Warsy sounds come out of the toy] It’s so cool.

So there’s been like 1,000,000 Luke LEGO minifigures at this point. Do you have any, and do you have a favorite?

Well, I have this. [Holds up a classic A New Hope Tatooine Luke] Classic. Yeah. And look, at least they finally got the hair color right. When I first came out as a Kenner action figure, I had lemon yellow hair.

Lucasfilm/Hasbro/LEGO

I remember, I had one! Yeah, why is that?

They told me, “Well, because that’s the basic color they have, and you’re considered a blonde.” Even though I have brown hair. But I didn’t care. I just loved it. I was probably the most enthusiastic about the merchandise, you know, of all of us. You know, Carrie Fisher thought it was kind of fun.

Yeah, I know Carrie Fisher talked a lot about being a shampoo bottle, and the weirdness of people twisting off their head and stuff coming out, which I always thought was funny.

Yes! [laughs] But Harrison, believe me, he didn’t care. [Does a grumpy-sounding Harrison Ford voice impression] “Whatever.” Because I’d come in and say, “Hey, look, we’re a mask on the back of a cereal box!” And he would just roll his eyes.

—

On Apr. 8 from 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET to 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET, fans in the U.S. can call 1-877-80-ASK-MARK to hear the J.E.D.I. give fun facts about LEGO Star Wars SMART Play sets. A limited number of callers will also be invited to join a live video chat with Mark, as he guides them to master their creative forces and bring them to life with LEGO Star Wars SMART Play sets.

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