Star Wars: Ray Park Returning as Darth Maul for 'The Clone Wars'

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace introduced audiences to the villainous Darth Maul, a deadly Sith who blew our minds with a double-bladed lightsaber, which he used to kill Qui-Gon Jinn. Despite seemingly being defeated by Obi-Wan Kenobi, the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars confirmed that the Sith was so fueled by hatred that he managed to survive the encounter to continue his terror. Actor Ray Park brought the character to life in the live-action film, with Sam Witwer voicing the character in the animated series. For the upcoming final season of The Clone Wars, the character will come to life with the help of Park's motion-capture performance.

"I wanted this fight to be big. I wanted this to be an epic lightsaber fight... This one had to be among the best, if not the best we did," producer Dave Filoni shared during a Clone Wars panel at Star Wars Celebration. "I went and, I know Ray Park, and I said, 'Ray, wouldn't it be great... why don't we suit you up in mo-cap suit and be Darth Maul?' So when you see Maul fighting, it's going to be really Maul fighting... There's just something unique about how Ray moves... It was a great moment having him perform it."

While his live-action journey was short-lived, Maul enjoyed many more years of storytelling not only in Clone Wars, but also in Star Wars Rebels. Last year, Maul made a surprise appearance in Solo: A Star Wars Story, portrayed by Park and voiced by Witwer. Fans have been hoping to see the character in another film at some point, with Park himself having ideas for the villain's adventures.

"If anything ever happens in the future and the character is back, and it's me? I have a lot of great ideas of what I'd like to do with it," Park previously shared with Forbes.

Unfortunately, Solo's box office performance wasn't quite what many had hoped, as it took in less than $400 million worldwide. The cameo gave audiences hope that Maul would appear again in another film, though Lucasfilm has regularly confessed that the main focus in the world of film is the upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and that there will reportedly be a brief hiatus in feature films for the foreseeable future.

The final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars debuts on Disney+ later this year.

Are you looking forward to the new episodes? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

(H/T CBR)

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