Could Darth Maul Be in the Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi Show?

With every new Star Wars project that gets announced, fans begin to speculate about which familiar characters could make an appearance in such an adventure, largely based on the timeline and setting of when such a narrative will unfold. The upcoming Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi TV series, for example, takes place between the events of the prequel trilogy and the original trilogy, a period that hasn't yet been explored in the world of live-action TV series. While there's a number of figures fans are hoping could appear, one question mark fans have is whether Obi-Wan will face off against one of his most iconic foes: Darth Maul.

Despite the many controversial elements of the prequel trilogy, Maul's appearance in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace immediately made him a fan favorite. Maul appeared to have been killed by Kenobi in that film, only for Star Wars: The Clone Wars to reveal that he had survived, as Star Wars Rebels also featured more of the character's adventures. Solo: A Star Wars Story even included Maul's return to live-action, but no clues have emerged in the years since that film's release about future appearances.

One hint that leans towards a possible appearance of Maul is the timeline of the series. Solo takes place 10 years before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope, while Obi-Wan Kenobi is said to take place roughly nine years before that debut film. In both The Clone Wars and Solo, fans saw how Maul had abandoned the Sith and instead focused on building a criminal empire, so it's tough to say how his trajectory could collide with Obi-Wan's. However, in Rebels, audiences saw how Maul had been driven mad by the hatred he held for Kenobi, with the pair eventually having a showdown in which Maul was finally and definitively killed. This showdown took place roughly two years before A New Hope, making it canonically possible that the foes could collide in live-action.

Between the connection between the characters and the overall timeline allowing an appearance from Maul, the series' first teaser trailer might have blatantly confirmed the former Sith's appearance with its choice of music. The teaser uses "Duel of the Fates" from The Phantom Menace, the song that famously played over the iconic battle between Kenobi, Maul, and Qui-Gon Jinn. Given how many pieces of music could have been used for the teaser, the use of "Duel of the Fates" may have been a not-so-subtle tease of what fans could expect in the new series.

Possibly complicating things is that the six-episode series is confirmed to include Darth Vader and the Inquisitors, so featuring yet another iconic villain could result in an overstuffed narrative. Unlike the open-ended nature of The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi is billed as a limited series, so it would seem unlikely to tease Maul this season to leave the door open for future adventures to focus on the character. Of course, the interconnected nature of the live-action Star Wars series has shown us that characters can appear and then get their own series, with the Star Wars: Andor series taking place in a potentially similar timeframe.

Even with how well Lucasfilm has kept character appearances a secret, rumblings had emerged that Boba Fett and Ahsoka would be appearing in The Mandalorian before their official debuts. Almost nothing has been said, though, of Park having any involvement in Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres on Disney+ on May 25th.

Are you hoping Maul makes an appearance in the series? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!