How did Darth Maul survive being cut in half?

Hatred. Pure, beautiful hatred. That’s how Darth Maul survived his untimely demise at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode I. After being chopped in half via lightsaber, you’d think that death would find the infamous Sith Lord. Darth Maul, it seems, had other plans.

Following his plunge down the reactor shafts of Naboo, Darth Maul was presumed dead by Jedi and Sith alike. Even his master, Darth Sidious (Emperor Palpatine), thought his apprentice had failed him. Maul’s fall was not as deadly as it seemed though, and he was able to use the force to grab hold of an air shaft that eventually led to a ship headed for Lotho Minor – the Junk World. 

During the whole ordeal, Maul’s hatred grew. Not just for the man who robbed him of his legs, Obi-Wan Kenobi, but also for his former master and the Sith Order that left him for dead. That resentment eventually drove him insane, and for more than a decade Maul carved out a horrid existence on Lotho Minor. He never slept, using The Force to keep his mechanical spider legs attached to his severed body. 

Maul’s time on Lotho Minor came to an end when his brother Savage Opress found him in the trash heaps of the planet’s underbelly, and took him back to Dathomir to be healed by Clan Mother of the Nightsisters. Below is a visual timeline of Darth Maul’s resurrection. 

In the end, Maul’s mind was purged of madness, and he received permanent legs to aid him on his quest for revenge. Even after all his time away, he hadn’t forgotten the people who had wronged him, and he set out to settle the score with one man in particular. 

During his resurrection, Maul, once a throw away villain, transformed into a highly complex character. He became the head of the crime syndicate known as Crimson Dawn, laid claim to Mandalore, fought alongside Jedi, and helped train Ezra Bridger. All the while seeking out his one true enemy, Obi-Wan Kenobi. 

Eventually he finds Kenobi, and the rest is history. But however you slice it (too soon?), Darth Maul is one of the most unforgettable characters in Star Wars. He went from an unexplained villain to a wonderfully crafted anti-hero, and his time in a galaxy far, far away was cut far too short, much like the man himself.