How Star Wars gave Darth Maul his own evil Baby Yoda sidekick with Spybot

Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord is the pulpy, sci-fi crime-thriller that fans are looking for. It blends a lot of what makes a great gangster film with the ever-expanding Star Wars galaxy, and the result is electric. But, despite the show’s grim and gritty tone, there is fun to be found within Shadow Lord — namely through the introduction of a particular, snickering droid.

There have been many droid companions throughout Star Wars — from Chopper in Rebels to the OGs of the series, R2-D2 and C-3PO — but Spybot feels unique. Voiced by David W. Collins, this steely, black robot with a penchant for violence and a maniacal gleam in its eye stands out as one of the few droids that looks as if it’s having a great time being part of the ‘bad guys’ posse. It gloats before and after attacking. The way it moves (and the way Maul pets it) makes the Sith lord feel remarkably similar to James Bond villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who carries a white, blue‑eyed Persian cat that he strokes menacingly.

According to Shadow Lord’s executive producers, Athena Yvette Portillo, Matt Michnovetz, and Brad Rau, the team always intended to give Maul a companion as fierce as Maul himself.

“[Designing Spybot] was a team effort. David Collins just took that character to the next level,” Matt Michnovetz, who also serves as Shadow Lord’s head writer, tells Polygon. “The idea was that we wanted Maul to have a fun, kind of sinister droid that was a combination of a panther meets a spider — his version of a loyal white cat he can pet.”

“The early script said, ‘Maul pets Spybot.’ And I’m like, ‘What is that, man? What’s going on? We’ve got to do more of that.’ So we kept trying to top each other,” Rau adds.

Image: Lucasfilm

The weirdness of Spybot motivated the rest of the Shadow Lord team to try to outdo one another by adding features to the sinister droid, which eventually led to it purring. This was a perfect addition that really solidifies Spybot as Maul’s evil white cat.

There were many standout moments in Shadow Lord’s two-episode premiere, from the intriguing Master Eeko-Dio Daki to Maul’s team of Mandalorian warriors. However, Spybot is easily the most fun addition to the animated series. And like all the other droids that came before it, we can’t wait to see what role it’ll play throughout the rest of Shadow Lord’s first season and beyond.

The first two episodes of Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord are available now on Disney Plus. New episodes will be released weekly on Mondays through May 4.