Darth Maul was introduced way back in 1999’s Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, but since being killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi, the character has been brought back to the land of the living for both Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels.
In next week’s episode of the Disney XD series, Maul will receive a long overdue rematch with Obi-Wan, but that very nearly never happened. In a new interview, Rebels executive producer Dave Filoni revealed that the iconic villain was going to be immediately killed off by Darth Vader upon his return in season 2.
“Originally, Maul perished in the season two finale where he returned. It was a one-off appearance. So originally in that episode you were gonna get Vader fighting Maul, Vader would have killed Maul, and then fought Ahsoka.”
That would have shaken Star Wars Rebels up in a big way, especially as Darth Maul has proven to be a pivotal part of several ongoing storylines in the animated series. Of course, a battle between Maul and Vader is something fans would love to see, but that was ultimately too much for a single episode.
“It just became unwieldy. It’s more of a fan fiction fun thought that they fought. The emotional drama was really between Vader and Ahsoka. So we decided to let Maul live.”
It’s a good time for fans of Darth Maul, especially as the character is also starring in his own comic book series. Of course, it’s entirely possible that the villain will meet his maker at the hands of Obi-Wan in the next episode of Star Wars Rebels, and if that’s the case, we can forget about getting to see that dream fight between him and Vader.
Still, Filoni’s comments are likely to excite fans even further about that potential match-up, so whatever the future holds in store for Maul, here’s hoping he gets to cross paths with Vader sooner rather than later in Star Wars Rebels.
