Star Wars Rebels Creator Explains Why Maul Had To Face Kenobi In Fateful Season 3 Battle

Star Wars Celebration has come and gone for another year, but the weekend was packed full of huge surprises that should keep fans of that galaxy far, far away talking for quite a while. The biggest reveal was obviously the first teaser for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but there were also plenty of developments relating to Dave Filoni’s excellent Disney XD animated series, Star Wars Rebels.

In addition to confirming that the show’s upcoming fourth season would also be its last (you can check out the trailer above), Filoni also answered questions about the eventful third season, which recently wrapped up with an action-packed double episode. However, it was something from the penultimate installment, “Twin Suns,” which seemed to spark the most debate.

In the episode, Darth Maul finally tracks down his old nemesis, Obi-Wan Kenobi, in exile on Tatooine, looking to gain a measure of revenge after the powerful Jedi left him for dead in The Phantom Menace. Although the fight doesn’t go well for Maul (Kenobi dispatches his rival after just a couple of strokes), Filoni explains why he felt it was necessary for these two to face-off again, and why it ultimately ended the way it did.

It was something we’d discussed ever since Maul came back. It’s not just about bringing Maul back but you also look at how it affects the character of Obi-Wan. And Obi-Wan had always been seen as this Jedi that took out this Sith Lord before the Clone Wars – it was kind of a validating thing for him and in a way when we were on the Clone Wars we were like it’s kind of sad because he loses that mantle and then we started to go down the list of what’s going to happen to Maul at the end and then you’re like ‘I don’t know if I feel right about anybody else taking him out except Obi-Wan.’ So what became clear was that it’s a character arc for Maul and a character arc for Obi-Wan.

Will we see Kenobi return for the final season of Star Wars Rebels? Given what we already know about his canonical adventures prior to A New Hope, it seems unlikely, but it’s best never to rule anything out when it comes to this universe. As always, watch this space for more.