Star Wars: J.J. Abrams Was Disappointed by a Prequel Trilogy Character's Death

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams was disappointed by the death of Darth Maul in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. During an interview with SiriusXM, Abrams the famous lightsaber combat scene between Maul, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Obi-Wan Kenobi came up. The scene is considered a highlight of the film and the prequel trilogy both for the combat and John Williams's epic companion music, "Duel of the Fates" Abrams shares his thoughts on the scene in the above video, saying "It's an incredible score. I remember the reason I didn't love that was only because I remember the posters had advertised Darth Maul, the feeling of 'Oh my god, here we go.' Then he was over. And I know that in the extended universe he lived on with those spidery legs and everything but I will tell you that it was over too quickly, this character that I thought was here we go with the beginning of something that will take me somewhere. I just remember that when it ended I was like, 'What?' I mean, the scene is amazing, but…"

Abrams reveals his favorite prequel trilogy scene comes from Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. "I think my favorite scene from the prequels is when the Emperor's telling Anakin the story of Darth Plagueis the Wise," he says. "There's just something about that scene. They're just two people sitting there. It's visually interesting. But I think Ian's performance in it is spectacular."

He's referring to Ian McDiarmid, the actor who plays Emperor Palpatine. Abrams brought McDiarmid as the Emperor back for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Abrams has said that the Sith Lord's return will tie the entire Skywalker saga together.

"Some people feel like we shouldn't revisit the idea of Palpatine, and I completely understand that," Abrams said. "But if you're looking at the nine films as one story, I don't know many books where the last few chapters have nothing to do with those that have come before. If you look at the first eight films, all the set-ups of what we're in IX are there in plain view."

What's your favorite scene from the Star Wars prequel trilogy? Let us know in the comments. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens in theaters on December 20th.

Star Wars is also headed to the Disney+ streaming service. The Mandalorian is now streaming on DIsney+. A show following Obi-Wan Kenobi is in the works, with Ewan MacGregor returning to the role. A series about Rogue One's Cassian Andor is also in development.