Though Darth Maul was presumed dead in the
(Note: This post contains massive spoilers for the end of “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” Just putting that out there.)
“Solo: A Star Wars Story” fills in the backstory of Han Solo and quite a few other characters. The movie’s biggest twist, however, doesn’t have to do with the events that lead Han to becoming one of the greatest smugglers in the galaxy — it’s about one “Star Wars” character who turns out to be still alive, still influencing the galaxy, and still posing a threat to a lot of people.
That character is Darth Maul (Ray Park, voiced by Sam Witwer), and if you haven’t been keeping up with any of the ancillary “Star Wars” material surrounding the core film franchise — specifically the animated TV shows that he’s prominently appeared in — seeing him again was probably a bit of a shock. Especially since he shows up as the boss of crime syndicate Crimson Dawn — and also the new boss of Emilia Clarke’s Qi’ra as she fully embraces a life of crime at the end of the movie.
Is there going to be more Darth Maul in upcoming movies? Probably not, but it could be possible they’re setting up a crossover with one of these upcoming TV shows, like the Cassian Andor-focused “Rogue One” prequel series that was just announced for the Disney+ streaming service.
The last we saw of Maul on film was way back in “The Phantom Menace” in 1999, when the apprentice of Darth Sidious, aka Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), got cut in half while fighting with Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor).
Also Read:’Solo: A Star Wars Story’ — Did You Catch Han’s ‘Back to the Future’ Reference?
Fighting two Jedi at once, the Sith Lord killed Qui-Gon, which enraged Obi-Wan. With a cool jump and a fast Force move, Obi-Wan managed to slice Darth Maul in half at the waist. Maul fell down a long shaft, disappearing into darkness, and wasn’t seen again in the prequel trilogy of “Star Wars” movies. If all the “Star Wars” you knew about was the movies, you likely would have presumed him to be very dead.
In fact, though, Maul is a major figure in “Star Wars” side stories that have been taking place almost since his first appearance in “The Phantom Menace.” The details of his survival first come up in the animated show “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” where he appears sporting robotic legs and a desire for revenge against Obi-Wan Kenobi. In the show, we see that, through sheer hatred, willpower, and a mastery of the Force, Maul (voiced by Witwer) manages to keep himself alive after the fight with Kenobi on Naboo — and to grab hold of an air vent as he tumbles down the shaft he fell into.
From there, Maul hauls himself into a garbage container, basically clinging to life through Force power and anger, which isn’t unlike what happened to Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) after his fight with Kenobi in “Revenge of the Sith.
