While the live-action “Star Wars” installments often steal the spotlight, the animated series have quietly delivered some of the franchise’s most memorable moments in the Disney era. This is largely due to the distinct visual style that Lucasfilm established back in 2008 with the “Clone Wars” film. Although “Star Wars Rebels” and “Star Wars Resistance” offered innovative departures, the recent series like “The Bad Batch” and “Tales of the Jedi” have continued to build on the “Clone Wars” foundation, evolving the aesthetic further.

Though they get less attention than the live-action “Star Wars” offerings, the animated series have delivered some of the biggest highlights of the Disney “Star Wars” era. That’s due in no small part to the visual style that Lucasfilm has developed, which started in 2008 with the “Clone Wars” movie. That aesthetic has stayed pretty consistent ever since, though “Star Wars Rebels” and “Star Wars Resistance” changed things up in larger ways. But what fans have enjoyed recently on shows like “The Bad Batch” and “Tales of the Jedi” is a direct evolution of those early “Clone Wars” seasons.

The seventh season of “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” left audiences awestruck with its visual prowess, ushering in a golden age for Lucasfilm Animation. Under the guidance of Dave Filoni, now the president of Lucasfilm, the division has consistently delivered visually stunning seasons, experimenting with different styles while maintaining a unified look. The upcoming Darth Maul series promises to elevate this with a more artistic flair, as evidenced by the latest trailer. The advanced use of lighting and color distortion, particularly on Maul’s lightsaber, creates a watercolor-like effect that adds depth to the animation.

The continual enhancement of the visual quality in “Star Wars” animations is a testament to the technological advancements and expertise at Lucasfilm Animation. The studio’s new endeavor with “Maul” — a series aimed at a mature audience, bridging the “Tales” miniseries and “Bad Batch” seasons — paves the way for even more intriguing developments in the future.

Since the inception of “The Clone Wars,” Lucasfilm Animation has been relentless, moving seamlessly from one project to another, and crafting a distinctive niche within the “Star Wars” universe that is both unique and essential. “Maul — Shadow Lord” is the latest addition to this legacy, offering a glimpse of what the future might hold for the franchise’s animated saga.

It’s a distinct strength of the animated “Star Wars” shows that each one is better-looking than the last, thanks to the slow evolution of tech and experience at Lucasfilm Animation. Now that the studio is trying something new with “Maul” — a show aimed at an older audience that lands between the “Tales” miniseries and the longer seasons of “Bad Batch” — it opens up even more exciting possibilities for what could come next.

Lucasfilm Animation seems to have hardly rested since work began on “The Clone Wars,” moving from one series to the next and gradually carving out a distinct corner of the “Star Wars” universe that feels both unique and pivotal. “Maul — Shadow Lord” is only the latest entry in that legacy, but it also might hint at the future.

“The Bad Batch” is one of the best things Disney has done with “Star Wars,” and certainly the most underrated show Lucasfilm has released on Disney+. At the same time, it makes sense why it failed to make much of a splash outside the core fandom. The first two seasons were 16 episodes each, with 15 for the third, and a release schedule that typically premiered only one a week. That format put the show in a difficult position, as it was already trying to balance the younger audience that had gravitated to “Clone Wars” and “Rebels” with more mature storylines about the early years of the Empire. Week to week, one of two very different audiences was left behind, and the data is still unclear as to how streaming works for the kinds of children’s animation that previously excelled on traditional television.

“Shadow Lord” offers a more compelling, less divided vision for future “Star Wars” animation — a 10-episode season released over five weeks, maximizing its budget and appealing to a specific audience. It’s easy to imagine a similar approach working for shorter-form series all across the “Star Wars” Disney+ timeline, provided “Maul” ends up being as good as it looks. For now, at least, the fans seem incredibly excited.