While we’ve known that the “bonus content” being worked on for The Clone Wars wasn’t necessarily going to bring closure to the series, Lucasfilm told Newsarama that at least one of the show’s loose ends will be told in comic form this spring, giving a big finale both for Darth Maul and for Dark Horse Comics.
Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir will be a four-part comic starting in May, based on unproduced screenplays. Newsarama interviews the writer, Jeremy Barlow, on what’s in store for this tale. With a title of Son of Dathomir, one might expect a return to the planet, and revenge against Darth Sidious, but Barlow also teases some more locales and characters as well, including a new one named Brother Viscus.
Newsarama points out that while this unproduced story arc is being told first in comic form, it doesn’t mean that it will only be told in this form. I wouldn’t take this as anything more than Lucasfilm simply leaving the door open, and not as a sign that it will be actually realized in animated form.
Although Newsarama is calling this storyline the series finale, the show’s “final arc,” there’s been some clarification from Lucasfilm folks:
The Maul comic is very cool, but it *wasn’t* the series finale. It was a 4-part arc that fell beyond what was already in production.
— Pablo Hidalgo (@infinata) January 8, 2014
If there's still confusion: the new Dark Horse miniseries only deals with a Darth Maul arc from near end of the series. Not a series finale!
— Jennifer Heddle (@jenheddle) January 8, 2014
Long story short: It wraps up the Darth Maul arc, but isn’t the show’s intended finale. Pablo also says it wasn’t intended for S6.
The original comments:
1 Stooge // Jan 7, 2014 at 7:41 pm
Wow, Paul Ens called that one: https://clubjade.net/?p=48873
2 Sean // Jan 7, 2014 at 7:46 pm
I hate it when they do this stuff in comics. As much as I love comics, stuff like this deserves more.
3 taikwan // Jan 7, 2014 at 8:20 pm
Sad and they’re still Pontius Pilate, washing their hands of a great series.
4 Pabawan // Jan 7, 2014 at 8:41 pm
Going to the trouble of making available unproduced content seems an odd way of washing one’s hands of things.
5 Ryan M. // Jan 7, 2014 at 9:02 pm
I’d say the fact that we’re even getting this, no matter it’s form, is pretty spectacular. Heck, I’d been happy if it had just been the scripts released. Definitely will like to see the “end” of Darth Maul’s arc, whatever that entrails…I mean entails :)
6 Iiari // Jan 7, 2014 at 11:36 pm
>”I’d say the fact that we’re even getting this, no
> matter it’s form, is pretty spectacular. ”
Here here. I think this is amazing, and in fact, producing as many “lost” threads of the TCW as possible would be a great way for both the show and Dark Horse to go out. TCW/Lucas have nothing to lose, and any such issues are self-limited, guaranteed commercial successes DH can pound out before the switch.
A win-win for Lucas, TCW, Dark Horse, and all of us if you ask me.
7 Shadadukal // Jan 8, 2014 at 1:06 am
That would be something DH won’t have the time to collect and that one has to get by issues, I imagine.
Still, this is very exciting.
8 jawajames // Jan 8, 2014 at 1:16 am
i figure they will have time to collect it into a TPB. 4 issues from May finishes in August. TPB for the holiday season.
for instance, last year’s Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin finished its issue run in August. TPB was out in November.
I’d imagine that getting this story, DH would love to get a trade out ASAP as long as their contract allows them to do so.
As Iiari says, a win-win-win.
9 Mike S // Jan 8, 2014 at 1:24 am
Just hope the art work doesn’t stink.
Dark Horse are a bit “Hit & Miss” when it comes to Star Wars comic book art.
“The Star Wars” – massive hit.
“Star Wars” – definite miss.
10 Shadadukal // Jan 8, 2014 at 1:29 am
Thanks jawajames.
I think I’ll wait then.
11 Aaron // Jan 8, 2014 at 9:42 am
I hope we get a little more of this kind of content from Del Rey or Marvel. I’d love to know where Ahsoka’s younglings ended up (preferably not in the Jedi Temple when Anakin decided to pay a Vaderesque visit), what happened to the TCW version of Ventress (or the Dark Horse one for that matter) or what the whole Mortis confusion situation was all about.
12 Andrew // Jan 8, 2014 at 5:46 pm
So, does this mean that since this comic was based off real script from “The Clone Wars” in terms of canon it is up there with the show and the movies and not with the books and other comics? Or is it still second-tire canon? Personally, since it is based off an actual story arc I like to think it has a greater importance than the other novels and comics that are published.
13 Sean // Jan 9, 2014 at 9:30 am
I hope they keep Maul alive. Grandpa spider legs Maul showing up in ep7 would be fun