Dork Side of the Force
Fansided

Darth Maul-The apprentice who was made for more

By Aidan Burns

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 02: A cosplayer dressed as Darth Maul poses at 2022 Los Angeles Comic Con at Los Angeles Convention Center on December 02, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chelsea Guglielmino/WireImage,,)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 02: A cosplayer dressed as Darth Maul poses at 2022 Los Angeles Comic Con at Los Angeles Convention Center on December 02, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chelsea Guglielmino/WireImage,,) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Since Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012, The Star Wars canon has expanded dramatically. This includes numerous Projects focusing on beloved characters that were considered to be fan favorites such as Han Solo and Boba Fett. However, there are also a number of missed opportunities when it comes to fan favorites.

Without question, fans of The Phantom Menace, Clone Wars, and Rebels will remember the feared assassin, Darth Maul. Maul was first introduced in cinema during The Phantom Menace. Following orders of Darth Sidious, the mighty Sith burst on the scene as an intimidating yet stoic horned figure.  At that time, Ray Park’s performance went almost overlooked. It wasn’t until Maul was brought back in the animated series, Star Wars: Clone Wars that Maul got significant recognition from fans. Voiced by Sam Witwer, Maul was portrayed in a way that Phantom Menace Actor Ray Park was previously unable to do. Fueled by rage and hatred, fans bought into the terrifying hell raiser and his brother, Savage Opress, a character that unfortunately never made it out of the Clone Wars series.

Years after his Clone Wars debut, Maul has yet to get the proper attention that many fans wish he had gotten. Many will remember the 2018 film, Solo. At the end of this film, we see Ray Park reprise his role as Maul in a cameo scene. This time, Sam Witwer voicing Maul in live-action for the first time. In this cameo scene. We find out that Maul is behind a dangerous criminal organization known as Crimson Dawn. after this scene, many fans were anticipating an enormous payoff…a payoff that never came.

After the performance of Solo, Lucasfilm decided not to move forward with films focusing on one particular individual. Then later down the line, Disney+ was launched and other projects were created. Unfortunately, Maul’s Crimson Dawn Story arc did not fit their plans. However, many long-term fans were simply disappointed, but not surprised.

Roughly a few years before the events of A New Hope, we see Maul as a broken old man during the events of Star Wars: Rebels.  He had lost his brother, his master, and his syndicate. At this point in time, Maul had his sights solely on his long-time rival, Obi-Wan Kenobi. When the determined Maul eventually found Kenobi on the sands of Tatooine, Kenobi made sure that Maul met his final end. However, there still seems to be a large gap in Maul’s story. The Fate of Crimson Dawn and Maul’s relationship remains to be unseen, or at least on the big screen. Given this leaves room to finally explore Maul’s leadership in the syndicate and maybe even showcase his inevitable downfall, fans wonder whether Disney will take a chance on developing a project that currently does not fit in with their larger plans. One thing is for sure, after several disappointing series, maybe a little fan service wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

Home/Editorial