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Sam Witwer & Darth Maul Surprise Opening Moment | Disneyland After Dark: Star Wars Nite 🌌✨
Apr 29, 2026
The Force was strong at the opening of Disneyland After Dark: Star Wars Nite 2026! Fans were treated to a massive surprise when Sam Witwer, the voice behind the legendary Darth Maul in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, made a special appearance to help kick off the festivities.
It wouldn’t be a Star Wars celebration without a little dark side energy, and seeing Sam Witwer alongside Maul himself was a moment for the history books. We were there to capture the excitement as the "expanded timeline" era of Galaxy's Edge officially began.
From the specialty food and character sightings to the electric atmosphere of a sold-out Star Wars Nite, it was an unforgettable evening of "Disney and positive stuff." Stay tuned to the channel for more coverage of the new characters and stories arriving at Black Spire Outpost!
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Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:18
Good evening everyone and welcome to
0:20
your special celebration in a galaxy far
0:24
far away.
0:25
The time has arrived and Disneyland
0:28
after dark Star Wars night has
0:30
officially begun.
0:32
Tonight you're all invited to enjoy an
0:34
array of activities that celebrate the
0:37
most beloved franchise in the galaxy.
0:40
So, make the jump to light speed and
0:43
enjoy your evening.
0:56
>> [music]
1:31
[laughter]
1:41
>> Well, welcome to DISNEYLAND AFTER DARK
1:43
STAR WARS NIGHT.
1:47
HELLO,
1:48
HELLO.
1:49
WE CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT. MAKE SOME
1:50
MORE NOISE IN STAR WARS. [screaming]
1:53
YES, [cheering]
1:55
THAT IS WHAT I LOVE TO SEE. Lift those
1:57
sabers high. This is Disneyland after
2:00
dark Star Wars night 2016.
2:03
YOU HAVING A GOOD NIGHT SO FAR?
2:05
>> [cheering]
2:07
>> I LOVE THAT WELL THINGS ARE about to get
2:10
even better. As you know, this is the
2:13
opening night of our event, which means
2:15
I got to compliment y'all. You're the
2:17
best of the best, the biggest fans. You
2:20
came to the RIGHT PLACE AT THE right
2:22
time. I'm sensing I'm sensing in the
2:24
force we've all united here for perhaps
2:27
a purpose.
2:28
Have you come to see something?
2:32
Perhaps a little vague, wasn't it?
2:34
Perhaps someone?
2:37
>> [cheering]
2:39
>> Well, I won't keep you in the dark much
2:42
longer. That was a little hint.
2:44
Yeah, but that's okay. My jokes get
2:46
better, or do they? Because I personally
2:49
think black goes very good with red. Who
2:52
are we HERE TO SEE? SHOUT IT OUT.
2:55
DARTH
2:56
MAUL, YES, I LOVE IT. I promise I
2:58
promise he will be making an appearance
3:02
here shortly, but I have up my sleeves,
3:05
my red leather sleeves, a little
3:07
surprise for your loyalty as fans.
3:10
Actually, it's a rather big surprise
3:14
because nobody, and I mean nobody, knows
3:17
the character of Darth Maul better than
3:20
our surprise guest. She's already
3:22
getting excited. Yeah, yeah, this
3:25
talented voice actor has spent over Oh,
3:28
THERE IT GOES.
3:31
OVER
3:32
A DECADE bringing this character to life
3:36
from Clone Wars to Star Wars Rebels and
3:39
now you've seen it, you love it, the new
3:42
chapter. Are you watching?
3:44
Yes, the new animated series Star Wars
3:47
Maul Shadow Lords. So, please give a
3:51
huge
3:53
Star Wars welcome to the one, the only
3:57
Sam Witwer.
3:59
>> [cheering]
4:02
[applause]
4:05
[cheering]
4:07
>> Surprise.
4:10
I'm surprised that Sam you're surprising
4:11
me.
4:12
There's so many surprises.
4:14
>> [cheering]
4:14
>> What?
4:15
Make some more noise.
4:18
Darth Maul.
4:20
>> [applause]
4:20
>> Oh my goodness.
4:23
Wow, this is an honor and a I told you
4:25
right place right time. Loyalty pays
4:27
off, right? So, I'm going to kick things
4:30
off. That was a great misdirect you did.
4:32
Everyone looking over there.
4:33
I was like CARRIE COTT. JUST KIDDING.
4:36
It's a magic show as well as Star Wars.
4:38
Now, I'm going to put you in the hot
4:39
seat. I know we're standing, so just
4:41
pretend it's invisible and very hot.
4:44
Is this your first Disneyland after dark
4:47
Star Wars night? Actually, yes, it is.
4:49
>> It is.
4:50
>> [cheering]
4:51
>> Look, there's no wrong answer.
4:52
Literally, there's no wrong answer. Oh,
4:54
so I was right.
4:54
>> You were right. You got it correct.
4:56
We're keeping score and there'll be a
4:57
quiz later, but so far it's going very
5:00
well. This is what a great inaugural
5:01
visit then. Yeah. Mostly for us, but
5:03
also for you.
5:04
>> Right. People turned up. This is great.
5:07
They turned up. Are you kidding? I could
5:09
barely like make it to stage in time. I
5:11
was like, excuse me, excuse me. You're
5:12
very popular.
5:13
I love that and I do have it on good
5:16
authority that you are quite the Star
5:17
Wars fan yourself.
5:19
A little bit. Is that true?
5:20
>> Yeah. Yeah. A little bit. How how
5:22
little?
5:23
Little like that. Little bit. Somewhere
5:26
between here and here and here. Yeah.
5:28
Yeah, does that help with the self
5:30
knowing the universe to your work? Well,
5:33
everyone we work with knows Star Wars
5:35
quite well. So, it's always, you know,
5:38
someone will I'll throw an idea out and
5:40
Brad Rau will say, yeah, but in Clone
5:42
Wars season 3 episode 17 we did this, so
5:45
don't do that, you know. You just go
5:47
through the Rolodex of Yes, yes. There's
5:49
a lot of things to keep in mind with
5:50
this stuff. Speaking of keeping things
5:52
in mind, I know it would personally be
5:54
fascinating if you kind of reached back
5:56
into the memory banks and shared with us
5:58
a core pivotal first Star Wars memory
6:02
for you. First Star Wars memory. I think
6:05
the first Star Wars memory for me was um
6:09
getting a stormtrooper action figure.
6:12
You guys remember like back
6:14
back back back
6:15
before you were born. High quality back
6:18
then, too. And yeah yeah and and so I
6:20
got the Star Wars, you know, this is a
6:22
this is from a movie. Oh.
6:25
What is it? It's a stormtrooper. Oh. And
6:27
on the back he has this sort of 011
6:30
symbol thing on the back that the
6:31
stormtroopers have. I'm like, what does
6:32
this mean?
6:34
And my dad goes, nobody knows. And I'm
6:36
like
6:37
whoa, and then I was hooked. It was
6:39
over. And I must know.
6:41
>> Yeah. And I will hence make my career
6:43
out of knowing.
6:44
>> I don't know. Does anyone really know?
6:46
Nobody knows. Well, speaking of various
6:49
characters within the Star Wars
6:51
universe, I think I know the answer. I
6:53
could be wrong. I was wrong about where
6:55
you entered stage, so it's all full
6:56
surprises tonight. There's no wrong
6:57
answers. There's no wrong answers. We've
6:58
already established that. What is your
7:01
favorite Star Wars character?
7:03
>> Who do you think it is?
7:09
Again, no wrong answers. We would all
7:10
judge you silently. So, you think it's I
7:12
would think it's Darth I mean, shout out
7:14
your guesses. Do you have any guesses?
7:17
It seems pretty unanimous to me
7:19
that it's the one you know so well.
7:21
Darth Maul?
7:22
>> [cheering]
7:24
>> Well, you're wrong.
7:26
It's Luke, Luke Skywalker.
7:29
I love that.
7:30
Again, there are I love that we're
7:31
learning so much. Now, why is it Luke?
7:33
Can I ask? Because
7:35
because Luke Skywalker, because he's
7:38
he's he's all of us growing up and
7:41
trying to figure life out, you know, in
7:43
the same way that Ahsoka Tano is. Yeah.
7:45
That's I think that's a great thing. And
7:47
it and I feel like personally
7:50
if I didn't love Luke so much, I don't
7:53
know that I I would know how to play
7:55
Darth Maul. Interesting. That makes
7:57
>> No, it doesn't. No, I don't think it
7:58
does. It's kind of like, what would Luke
7:59
do? Do the opposite, you know.
8:01
Absolutely. And it gives you that
8:03
foundation, I think, to really ground
8:06
your character.
8:06
>> A little bit. Yeah, I think so. Well,
8:08
speaking of your character, how does it
8:10
feel returning, continuing on this new
8:12
chapter with the animated series? Boy.
8:15
He just won't die, this guy, huh?
8:17
>> [laughter]
8:17
>> I mean, he does,
8:19
but that's the cool thing about
8:20
continuity. We get to jump to different
8:22
parts of this his life. So, yeah, it was
8:25
a real surprise
8:26
to hear that Dave was thinking we were
8:28
going to do a Darth Maul show.
8:30
Um, you know, and it was trickier than
8:33
you think to figure out how to play him
8:35
at this age because you think, well,
8:37
just right after the Clone Wars, so play
8:39
him like that.
8:41
Yeah, trickier because I think what's
8:44
interesting about Darth Maul
8:46
is seeing that inner conflict, that
8:48
turmoil, you know, what he's struggling
8:50
with and then he's about to make
8:52
decisions and make choices
8:54
and then we're not maybe have the
8:56
happiest with the choices that he makes,
8:57
but we find that interesting. The you
9:00
know, the struggles. The nuance of the
9:02
character.
9:03
>> so, hopefully. I don't know. What do you
9:04
guys like about him? The tattoos, right?
9:07
Yeah?
9:08
The lightsaber fighting?
9:11
The the horns, okay. All right, and now
9:13
she's wearing them and demonstrating
9:16
with a cowboy hat.
9:16
>> Determination.
9:18
Yeah, I'll tell you what, he's not a guy
9:19
who quits, right? Not really.
9:22
Tenacity pays off.
9:23
>> Yeah. Double lightsaber, we got a double
9:25
lightsaber here. Uh, combat prowess.
9:28
Combat prowess of the whoosh you. Uh,
9:31
what he
9:32
all of his agility, yeah? Cute.
9:35
Snappy dresser over here, right? We're
9:37
taking a survey. We're really going to
9:39
build up his confidence. He's going to
9:40
feel great walking out of here.
9:41
>> yeah. Tell me more. Tell me more. This
9:42
is good. Hey, I want to know more.
9:44
To put you on the spot again,
9:47
via social media, I happen to see you
9:49
have a very interesting technique, if
9:51
you will, for voicing said character.
9:54
This needs to be shared. Come on. I feel
9:56
like it was public knowledge, so I'm not
9:58
divulging too many secrets.
9:59
>> Sure. Well, look, look, I hate to
10:01
disappoint you, but the green apples
10:02
aren't going to make your voice sound
10:03
like Darth Maul.
10:04
>> What?
10:05
So, I know devastating.
10:08
Devastating, right? I'm so sorry. You
10:10
know, but much like the Sith, I lied to
10:12
you. Oh, no.
10:14
Uh it's what the Sith do. No, the green
10:17
apples actually are present in every
10:20
record, and I will tell you why.
10:22
Because
10:24
they eliminate like sort of some saliva
10:27
sound. They just kind of even everything
10:28
out. Now, if I was playing Jabba the
10:30
Hutt,
10:32
I would like have a tuna casserole
10:33
before I ate, you know what I mean? But
10:35
you don't want Darth Maul to be like
10:37
all, you know, "Blah, blah, blah." You
10:38
don't want that. All right, so it just
10:40
kind of cleans up the sound. You Eat the
10:43
apples, your sound good, you got that
10:45
smooth tone, and then you do terrible
10:48
things to people with lightsabers. Like
10:50
you do. Cleanse the palate and go to
10:52
work. That's how it works. I love that.
10:54
Now, we obviously have so many fans
10:56
joining us here tonight. What do you
10:57
think it is about the character of Maul
10:59
that continues to captivate the fans
11:02
after so many years? I think it's
11:04
putting him in new situations,
11:06
challenging him in ways that we haven't
11:07
seen him challenged before. And and also
11:10
understanding
11:12
understanding the parts of him
11:15
that are like us,
11:16
but unlike Luke Skywalker, he doesn't
11:18
reflect. He doesn't think about him what
11:22
what he could be doing better.
11:24
Because the thing about the Jedi
11:26
is that they're smarter.
11:28
The thing about the Jedi is that they
11:29
have bigger hearts, but they are
11:31
smarter. They will stop, they will
11:32
reflect, they will take a breath,
11:34
and they will question themselves.
11:37
Whereas the Sith,
11:38
oh, they don't do that. So, Maul, what's
11:41
interesting about him, I think, is that
11:43
he does have the notions, the feelings
11:46
that we all have, but Palpatine didn't
11:48
train him to think and reflect in the
11:51
way that a Jedi does. And I think that's
11:53
interesting because I think we see his
11:54
potential,
11:56
that he could be so much more,
11:58
but will he get there?
12:00
Uh well, why don't you ask everyone in
12:02
Rebels about that?
12:04
So. Almost as if his impulsiveness is
12:06
also relatable to us as perhaps flawed
12:09
humans.
12:09
>> Something like that. Yeah, I mean, you
12:11
know, Star Wars is a really wonderful
12:13
mythology about navigating the world,
12:15
right? And we can look to the heroes for
12:17
what is an example of what we should be
12:19
doing, and we can look to the villains
12:22
as an example of what we should not be
12:23
doing.
12:24
That's very analog. Speaking of taking a
12:26
look, before we head out, we do have a
12:28
quick look at the new animated series
12:30
Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord. So, let's
12:33
take a peek over at that now.
12:35
Screens right there.
13:11
>> [cheering]
13:27
>> So good, we're seeing it twice.
13:40
Round of applause!
13:42
>> [cheering]
13:42
>> It won't stop. Round of applause for
13:44
three?
13:45
I'll just talk on over it, but honestly,
13:48
that looks amazing. I think we all know
13:50
where we're going to go home and binge
13:51
watch. In fact, without sharing any
13:53
spoilers, there are still some remaining
13:55
episodes yet to be released.
13:56
>> Oh, are there? Are there more episodes?
13:59
Yeah, yeah, yeah, there's two more.
14:01
There's two more. You want me to spoil
14:02
them? Okay, so what happens? Do we want
14:04
them to spoil them? I don't know.
14:06
And then Circle of trust, right?
14:07
>> Where's your Yeah, you guys are not
14:08
going to tell anyone, right?
14:10
Right?
14:13
Okay, I'll say this much.
14:14
>> Okay.
14:15
Cameras out, we're down. I'm not sure.
14:16
Maul's plan spins completely out of
14:20
control.
14:23
Oh, you love that, huh? Great. Yeah, I
14:25
worked really hard on that plan, man.
14:27
I worked really hard on that. Thank you
14:29
very much. Um yeah, no, things are going
14:31
to get crazy. Um
14:33
I think the action that you will see is
14:37
unlike anything that you've seen before
14:39
in Star Wars. I was absolutely shocked
14:42
when I saw the finished
14:43
episodes.
14:45
You are not ready.
14:46
You're not ready.
14:48
Try to ready yourself. Guys, get ready.
14:50
No, no, no, no. You can't be ready. You
14:52
won't be ready. It won't be done. Yeah.
14:54
>> [laughter]
14:55
>> Well, we are ready to have an amazing
14:56
evening. So, can we please say a huge
14:59
thank you to Sam?
15:01
>> [cheering]
15:04
[applause]
15:04
>> As you know, catch it on Disney+
15:07
streaming now, but
15:09
I have more surprises. What? It's full
15:11
of surprises. Yes, yes, yes. Well, this
15:14
one's a little bit for you because we
15:17
still have one more thing
15:21
to do.
15:24
I don't I'm I'm not going to have to be
15:25
asked to kill anyone cuz I don't really
15:27
do that.
15:28
That's not the Disney way, nor the Jedi
15:30
way, the Star Wars way, that's nobody's
15:32
way. Good.
15:33
>> But we perhaps, if you'll venture with
15:35
me Okay. to a safe distance
15:37
>> Sure.
15:38
we feel sense a rumbling some ominous
15:41
music.
15:43
What could possibly
15:46
occur?
15:47
Oh!
15:48
Things are happening.
15:51
Uh-oh.
16:13
>> [music]
16:20
>> There was a time when I felt certain of
16:23
my destiny.
16:25
As Sith apprentice, a weapon of
16:28
destruction.
16:31
A time when actions served a [music]
16:33
greater purpose.
16:40
>> [music]
16:46
[music]
16:53
[screaming]
17:05
[cheering]
17:09
[applause]
17:11
>> I'm seeing double.
17:14
Meet your match.
17:16
Uh-oh.
17:21
Make some noise for Darth Maul!
17:24
[cheering]
17:31
An epic experience in the making. Can we
17:35
say thank you yet again to Sam?
17:39
>> [cheering]
17:43
>> I think it's time for us now to
17:44
officially retreat back into the
17:47
shadows. Personally,
17:49
I'm very scared. So, a huge round of
17:51
applause once more for Sam.
17:54
>> [cheering]
17:54
>> Round of applause for yourselves for
17:56
being the best fans in the world.
17:59
Continue to have an amazing evening here
18:02
at Disneyland After Dark STAR WARS NIGHT
18:05
2022!
18:07
>> [cheering]