Why Maul Still Calls Himself That When He’s No Longer a Sith (& What Was His Real Name?)

Fan-favorite villain Maul is back in Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, and as much as audiences are getting a closer look at the character, the show is also introducing a host of new questions about the former Sith. Maul has quickly become one of the most compelling characters in Star Wars movies and TV shows. Although he seemed thoroughly dead following Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, the franchise pulled its favorite trick and brought him back in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, explaining his return with some spider legs and then quickly moving on.

Whereas other resurrections have proven incredibly controversial in Star Wars (see: Palpatine), Maul’s return was largely accepted because he is so beloved. What’s more, The Clone Wars actually gave him a very compelling arc, particularly in light of his status as a former Sith apprentice. Now, Maul – Shadow Lord is diving even deeper into that concept, specifically in terms of Palpatine casting him aside. That will no doubt prove fascinating, but this status as Palpatine’s ex-apprentice raises some significant questions, including when it comes to his name.

Maul Should Have Dropped More Than Just ‘Darth’

The title of Maul – Shadow Lord confirmed that Maul has officially dropped the ‘Darth’ title, signaling his acceptance that he is no longer a Sith. Granted, that had already been heavily implied throughout his appearances in The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, but this title is definitive. However, Maul kept the other part of his name that came with his status as a Sith apprentice. While perhaps less obvious than the ‘Darth’ title, Maul’s name in and of itself is a reflection of his former Sith self, yet it remains.

Although some Star Wars Sith, like Count Dooku, continue to go primarily by their previous name, each Sith Lord has a ‘Darth’ title and new name as well. Anakin Skywalker famously became Darth Vader. Sheev Palpatine became Darth Sidious. Dooku, despite remaining Dooku to most, even after his Sith identity was revealed, took the Sith name Darth Tyranus. ‘Darth Maul’ was likewise Maul’s Sith name; however, he hasn’t reverted to his original name—and, as Rebels proved, he never does.

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Maul Revealed He No Longer Remembers His Own Name

Maul has yet another fascinating arc in Rebels, which is set in the Dark Times as well but several years after Maul – Shadow Lord. In that show, Maul is on a quest to obtain the Sith holocron, and he attempts to turn Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger to the dark side of the Force and take him on as an apprentice. While Ezra thankfully resists that in the end, with the help of his Jedi Master, Kanan Jarrus, and Ahsoka Tano, Ezra does actually get somewhat close to Maul at first.

Maul, who is very good at manipulating even intelligent characters—it seems audiences are about to see that again with Maul and Devon in Maul – Shadow Lord—gets through to Ezra in part by sharing certain vulnerabilities and personal details. Among those is the fact that Maul no longer remembers his original name; he only remembers Maul. This makes sense, given just how much Maul has experienced at that point, yet there is something almost sad about this revelation.

The Jedi And Sith Share A Strange Connection

While there is genuinely something troubling about Maul not remembering his own name, and it’s easy to view this as another evil thing about the Sith, this actually suggests a connection to the Jedi Order’s practices in a certain way. Although it’s not regarding his own name (weirdly, Jedi keep even their last names, despite that seemingly going against the Jedi rules against attachments, including family attachments), Obi-Wan reveals in Obi-Wan Kenobi that he has vague memories of having a brother, but he can’t really remember him.

The Jedi are the “good guys” of Star Wars, but this revelation stirs up feelings similar to the ones that Maul forgetting his own name does. Both the Sith and the Jedi have certain practices that remove a sense of identity from Padawans/apprentices, and the moral implications of that are foggy, especially when it comes to the Jedi, who would be the more moral of the two.

It might seem unimportant that Maul only dropped his Darth title and doesn’t remember his own name, but this actually raises some interesting questions about the practices of the Jedi and the connections between these opposing sides of the Force. Maul forgetting his own name also does prompt a bit of sympathy for Maul, which is something Maul – Shadow Lord very well might explore in greater detail.

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