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Maul – Shadow Lord Star Dennis Haysbert on Living His Star Wars Dream

Dennis Haysbert (Send Help) discussed his role as Jedi Master Eeko-Dio Daki in Maul - Shadow Lord, living his Star Wars dream, and much more.

It was always Dennis Haysbert's dream to be in Star Wars since his career is literally almost as old as the franchise itself, since he made his on-screen debut in 1978 in the Mary Tyler Moore Show spinoff, Lou Grant, and the original film, since rebranded as A New Hope, was released in 1977. The actor made the best of it, appearing in almost everything else in some of the biggest pop culture franchises, including Laverne & Shirley, The Incredible Hulk, Galactica 1980, Quincy, M.E., Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, to name a few, and that's the start of his career. That doesn't even go into the sitcoms and dramas along the way before landing some of his biggest signature roles in Fox's 24 as President David Palmer and the Major League franchise's lovable slugger, Pedro Cerrano. It would only take 48 years, but Haysbert finally achieved his dream of being part of Star Wars in the Disney+ animated series Maul – Shadow Lord, playing Jedi Master Eeko-Dio Daki, part of a dying breed, trying to train Devon Izara (Gideon Adlon) in the ways of the Force amidst the Empire's standing Order 66 to eradicate all Jedi.

The actor spoke with Bleeding Cool about how playing a Jedi became a dream within a dream, working with creatives Dave Filoni and Matt Michnovetz, past opportunities to join the franchise, building rapport with Aldon, and why Star Wars is unlike any other franchise he's been in. Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord follows a year after the Clone Wars, where former Sith lord Maul (Sam Witwer) rebuilds his criminal syndicate and seeks a new apprentice on the planet Janix during the reign of the Galactic Empire.

Maul – Shadow Lord Star Dennis Haysbert on Why It's Better Late Than Never on Joining the Star Wars Franchise

BC: How did you get involved with Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, and what intrigued you about playing Master Eeko-Dio Daki?

Haysbert: Well, I got involved because [Lucasfilm] called [laughs] and asked me if I wanted to play this Jedi character. Of course, I said, "Yes!" I'm an incredible Star Wars geek and have always wanted to play a Jedi, always identified with the Jedi, as opposed to being a Sith. I also really enjoyed the idea of being involved after Order 66, because I've often really gone through the process, fantasized about, "Okay, who escaped? What did they do when they escaped?" They're on the run. Order 66 is still in effect, and they're being hunted down, so he's in survival mode, and he's trying to keep it going. As it pertains to Devon, he wants to keep her on the "straight and narrow," as it were, and keep up the ideals of the Jedi. Who knows where it's going to go from here? Basically, he wants her to keep the faith, and in turn, it helps him to keep his faith.

What did you like about playing in Dave Filoni's sandbox of the animated Star Wars universe, and what did you like working with Matt on this?

Well, almost the same answer. I'm a real Star Wars geek. I said, "Okay, if this is the first thing that came up, and it was live action, I'd have gone for that." I'm good with animation. I'm not a stranger to animation, and it really piqued my interest and enticed my imagination. My imagination can float with this, and [Master Daki's] a cool character to have. He's very Yoda-esque, also very old, wise, and you know he's got to deal with the impetuousness of his padawan. She's young.

Was there anything you added to Master Daki aside from what was on the script?

With any voice work, you're going to envision a lot of different things. A lot of what I did was with the Jedi Order, the ideas and ideals of what I believe that to be, and the producers seem to enjoy what I was doing, so you'll see down the line. It gets so much better, so much cooler. You're in for a ride. We're to get that 100 percent [rating on] Rotten Tomatoes. If the percentages could go any higher, we have not peaked yet.

Oh, I'm certainly not disappointed with what I've seen so far. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing a lot more of it. Career-wise, I was curious since you came around into the scene after A New Hope came to theaters [in 1978], and I was wondering, had Star Wars ever come your way as far as past opportunities, or was it something that never aligned until just now?

It just never aligned until now. I mean, I've been through a lot of different things. I've tried. I have been anxious to become a part of Star Wars for a long time. Just nothing seemed to align with the other issues coming up in my career and in other jobs elsewhere. Right now, everything is coming in its time, and right now, it's Eeko-Dio Daki's time.

Did you record alone in a booth, or were you grouped with your co-stars?

Sometimes we did with the other co-stars in groups. There are a lot of group scenes coming up, and sometimes it's Devon and [Master Daki], sometimes just by myself, and sometimes with others reading.

What do you like about developing your character, Master Daki, with Gideon's Devon?

That was really fun. It was actually flawless. We vibed very early on, and it was a lot of fun. We would kid around a lot until we sat down and got down to brass tacks and did the recordings, but it was flawless. Everybody enjoyed each other. I even enjoyed working with [Sam] Witwer. He's amazing; we would read off of each other, and everything else. As I said, I don't want to get too far ahead in the story, but it's going to be a nice little ride.

To build on that other question I had before about coming out right after A New Hope, I saw that you were also involved with other sci-fi franchises, including Battlestar Galactica 1980 and Buck Rogers. How do you compare with those experiences and being in those franchises to what you're doing in Star Wars?

I've never really been asked about it a lot. I'm a big sci-fi freak, so I've been a fan of Star Wars since it first came out, actually sitting back with a lot of envy [laughs] and jealousy, if you will. I always wanted to be a part of it, and I still would love to be part of any live-action that's coming up. My wish has come true. I am a Jedi, so I will forever be in canon with Star Wars, because this is a new future no one's ever seen. They haven't even told me what Eeko-Dio Daki is. He's like a dinosaur to them, but he's very wise and Yoda-esque. He's very old. He's seen a lot. The Clone Wars left scars on him, and all he wants now is to guide Devon to what she can be.

New episodes of Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, which also features the voices of Wagner Moura, Richard Ayoade, Chris Diamantopoulos, Charlie Bushnell, Vanessa Marshall, David W. Collins, A. J. LoCascio, and Steve Blum, premiere Mondays on Disney+.

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