The next Star Wars TV show, featuring Darth Maul, is about to improve one of the best moments in the franchise’s history. Darth Sidious’ sinister apprentice, Maul has a surprisingly limited presence in the Star Wars movies. He was actually only present for just over six minutes of The Phantom Menace‘s 2-hour-16-minute runtime, and yet he’s become one of the best Star Wars characters of all. George Lucas realized his mistake in killing Maul off, bringing him back in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
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Darth Maul’s story finally came to a real end in Star Wars Rebels Season 2, in an iconic episode called “Twin Suns.” Here, Maul successfully tracked the ageing Obi-Wan Kenobi to Tatooine, where he engaged in one final duel with the Jedi Master. But while Maul was still driven by an old vendetta and a desire for vengeance, Obi-Wan had grown past it, and his only priority was protecting Luke. The duel that followed was swift and effective, with Maul trapped in the past and Obi-Wan switching to his newer lightsaber form. Maul died in Obi-Wan’s arms, a fitting end, and it’s about to get even more poetic.
Darth Maul’s Last Words Were of the Chosen One
Obi-Wan never wanted to fight Darth Maul at all. He initially kept out of Maul’s way as the former Sith Apprentice wandered the desert sands of Tatooine, and only intervened when Maul drew Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger into his net. Even when they came face-to-face, Obi-Wan kept his lightsaber at his side until Maul correctly deduced he was on Tatooine to protect someone. Maul was too close to the truth, and now he could not be allowed to live. Within moments, the Jedi Master had disarmed his opponent and struck a mortal blow.
Unlike Maul, Obi-Wan had found peace during the years after Revenge of the Sith. For all Maul have cost him over the years, Obi-Wan cradled his body, and even offered unlikely words of comfort, reassuring Maul that Obi-Wan was protecting the Chosen One. Obi-Wan had come to believe Luke was the true Chosen One, the one destined to bring balance to the Force, but Maul still had only one future in mind. “He will avenge us,” Maul declared with his last words, believing the Chosen One would kill Darth Sidious and end his supremacy over Jedi and Sith alike.
Even as he died, Maul confirmed he was far from at peace; rather, he was still consumed by the dark side and by the desire for vengeance. Long-term viewers understood what Maul was referring to with those words. They knew Maul had been left for dead by Palpatine years ago after his defeat on Naboo, instead moving on to a successor in Count Dooku. They knew Maul had attempted to become a rival for Palpatine, but it had all ended in tragedy. Now, at last, we’re about to come to understand exactly what Maul was referring to.
Maul: Shadow Lord Will Add So Much Depth to Darth Maul’s Death
The next Star Wars TV series, Maul: Shadow Lord, is centered upon Maul himself. It’s set during the Dark Times of the Empire’s reign, and will see Maul seek to re-establish his power base in the criminal underworld as a rival for Palpatine. He’ll even take on an apprentice, believed to be Darth Talon, a character loosely based on a villain from the old Star Wars Expanded Universe. This is easily one of the most exciting Star Wars Disney+ TV shows to date, the first series to star a villain rather than a hero.
It’s also a story where the end is not in doubt. Darth Talon is entirely absent from Star Wars Rebels, while the Maul of that era is just a shadow of the man he used to be. There’s no trace of his criminal empire, which he passed on to a lieutenant in Crimson Dawn years before in unknown circumstances. All this means it’s clear Maul’s campaign against Palpatine and Darth Vader is doomed from the outset, and that we’re about to see why he failed.
What was Maul referring to when he said the Chosen One would avenge him? We know some of the answer already, enough for those words to be imbued with so much meaning. But they’re about to take on fresh depth, because everything in Maul: Shadow Lord will show us what the former Sith Apprentice lost when he went up against the true Sith. Darth Maul’s epic death scene, already one of the best moments in Star Wars history, will get better with every twist.
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