In Star Wars Rebels, we followed Darth Maul as he finally succeeded in tracking down "Ben" Kenobi on Tatooine. Realising that Anakin Skywalker's son was also on the planet, he left the former Jedi Master with no other choice but to engage him in battle and was struck down by the hero in the process.
That's where Maul's story ended, but it was recently reported that early plans for Disney+'s Obi-Wan Kenobi called for the former Sith to pursue "Ben" and a young Luke through the Galaxy. The idea was supposedly scrapped due to concerns it was too similar to The Mandalorian, though we're sure concerns about continuity and making sure that reunion made sense were also a driving factor.
Talking to Total Film (via CBR), Obi-Wan Kenobi director Deborah Chow explained why the spotlight had to be put on Darth Vader rather than Maul. "With a lot of the legacy aspects, the decision to bring Vader into it was not made lightly," she says. "We’re 10 years after Revenge Of The Sith. Where is Obi-Wan’s starting place? What has been important to him in his life?"
"Anakin and Vader are a huge and very profound part of his life. We ended up feeling that he made sense in telling this story," the filmmaker continued. "And Vader casts such a dark shadow in this, that to have Maul as well, it might be a little bit much."
We can't help but hope that rumours of Ray Park training for a return as this character will result in a surprise cameo, and the mind really does boggle at what it would look like to see Obi-Wan vs. Vader vs. Maul at some point in the series. Sadly, that feels like wishful thinking, so don't get your hopes up.
As for Maul, it's unclear whether we'll see him in live-action again. Solo: A Star Wars Story certainly set the stage for that to happen, but there's been no indication it's currently in the works.
Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres with its first two episodes on Disney+ on May 27.
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