We recently learned that Lucasfilm once planned to use Darth Maul as the main antagonist of Obi-Wan Kenobi, with the plan being to have the former Sith Lord pursue his old foe and a young Luke Skywalker. Ray Park was reportedly on set preparing for his return until production was paused due, in part, to the show being too similar to The Mandalorian.
Now, Darth Vader will take centre stage as Obi-Wan Kenobi's big bad, while the focus is expected to shift from Luke to his sister, Princess Leia.
While The Hollywood Reporter mentioned in their story that "A Lucasfilm source contradicted the account, saying Maul was never intended to return for the series, nor did Park come to set," Lucasfilm Creative Executive Pablo Hidalgo has weighed in on social media with a very blunt response.
In a screenshot shared by StarWarsNews.net, he dismissed the report of Darth Maul's return by stating, "A brown sun rises. Bullshit has been spilled."
We don't find it remotely hard to believe there were plans for this villain in Obi-Wan Kenobi. After all, A New Hope made it extremely difficult to reveal that the Jedi crossed paths with Darth Vader again after Revenge of the Sith (we're curious to see how the Disney+ series pulls that off...), and Maul pursuing the Jedi who sliced him in half at this point in the timeline would have worked.
However, it might have also been a tad underwhelming, as Star Wars Rebels has already established that Obi-Wan defeated Maul years later during a brief battle on Tatooine.