Shadow Lord’s coolest new Jedi was inspired by Obi-Wan Kenobi

Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord has finally arrived, introducing fans to another dark and gritty tale following the ex-Sith, Darth Maul (Sam Witwer). Eager to rebuild his criminal empire on the crime-ridden planet Janix, Maul must contend with both law enforcement officers like Captain Brander Lawson (Wagner Moura), and a wayward young Jedi in Devon Izara (Gideon Adlon) whom Maul hopes to manipulate as his new apprentice. However, Maul has some competition from Devon’s current Jedi master, Eeko-Dio Daki (Dennis Haysbert).

Little is known about Daki’s background — for example, his species remains unclear — but in an interview with Polygon, Shadow Lord executive producers reveal more about the origins of mysterious Jedi’s name and its connection to some of the franchise’s most popular heroes.

“We don’t get a lot of Jedi with hyphenated names like an Obi-Wan Kenobi, or a Qui-Gon Jinn.” Matt Michnovetz, head writer and executive producer behind Shadow Lord tells Polygon. “It feels like [hyphenated names] come from a more regal former time period. So that’s what we wanted to harken his character to, someone that was hundreds of years old and stoic in his nature, akin to Qui-Gon.”

Despite his ragged appearance in the show, Daki still exudes a presence similar to characters like Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. He is composed and reserved, but like them, he’s also aware of his feelings and shows the same compassion and intelligence expected of a Jedi. This stands in stark contrast to Devon, who is much younger and, unlike her master, struggles to accept that what she thought her life as a Jedi would be is changing rapidly and beyond her control in the aftermath of Order 66.

In grouping Eeko-Dio Daki with those two specific Jedi masters, Michnovetz may be offering a clue as to where Shadow Lord is ultimately headed. Obi-Wan Kenobi, or a Qui-Gon Jinn both struggled to point their padawan’s in the right direction (albeit for very different reasons), and based on the first two episodes of this latest Star Wars show, it looks like Daki could be facing a similar struggle. We just hope he does a better job than Obi-Wan in guiding his apprentice away from the Dark side.

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.