The first trailer for 1999's The Phantom Menace gave fans a glimpse of Darth Maul, the Sith lord who wielded a double-bladed lightsaber, the likes of which most fans had never seen. The stage was set for Maul to become the villain whose screen presence could rival that of Darth Vader, only for the character to meet his end at the hands of Obi-Wan after delivering a handful of lines.
Maul was brought back for the Clone Wars TV series, voiced by Sam Witwer, showing the further adventures of the terrifying villain, only for the show to be canceled without giving the character a proper sendoff.
With Clone Wars director Dave Filoni at the helm of Star Wars Rebels, he was allowed to connect the new animated series to his previous series, which included giving Maul the death he deserved at the hands of Obi-Wan.
When speaking to ComicBook.com about saying goodbye to the character, Witwer explained, "It feels really good. It feels really, really good. I remember when Clone Wars was closed down, which was unexpected...none of us thought that was gonna happen because Clone Wars had never been better, and it had finally achieved widespread acceptance by the fans...it was getting Emmy nods and all kinds of stuff...and I was certainly upset by the fact that we could not conclude Maul's story, because George and Dave had all these wonderful plans for what would happen to Darth Maul."
Slide 1/3 – "I kinda knew that that would be it."
Luckily, that disappointment was short-lived, as the announcement that Star Wars Rebels was on the way instantly got Witwer excited.
The actor confessed, "But then when they commissioned Rebels, that upset went away because I knew the moment that they did that, I'm like, 'Well Dave is absolutely going to use Rebels to be the extension of Clone Wars. He's gonna close out the Clone Wars through Rebels, and all those story threads that were dangling are gonna be tied up.'"
He added, "So the moment I heard that we were back, and that Maul was coming back, I kinda knew that we were going to Tatooine, and I kinda knew that that would be it."
Slide 2/3 – "That's such a poetic, fitting ending..."
Maul's original end in The Phantom Menace took many by surprise, as his epic duel against Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn ended with a fast cut from Obi-Wan, causing visual effects artists to separate his body while it fell down a chasm to ensure fans comprehended his fate.
Star Wars Rebels featured another showdown between Maul and Obi-Wan, having both undergone drastic changes in their character, in a subtle showdown between the two rivals. While many fans had hoped for another action-packed duel, Obi-Wan struck Maul down swiftly, putting an end to the character and his misery.
Witwer said of the sequence, "And I kind of felt wonderful about that. I just thought, 'That's such a poetic, fitting ending to that character.' And I thought that they executed it masterfully. I couldn't feel better about that whole thing, I think it's wonderful."
Slide 3/3 – Star Wars Rebels
Star Wars Rebels Season 3 is now available on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital HD.
