The Big Picture
- Darth Maul's repeated appearances in Star Wars stifle the plot and decrease the impact of each appearance, as he is constantly brought back despite his apparent death.
- Maul's survival muddles Obi-Wan Kenobi's arc, robbing him of victory and confusing the foundation of his role as a Jedi Knight and mentor to Anakin Skywalker.
- Star Wars' pattern of recycling successful elements, such as Maul's character, diminishes the quality of the franchise and prevents the creation of new and compelling characters.
Darth Maul may be one of Star Wars' most popular villains. Frightening appearance, acrobatic fighting style, an eagerness to kill — what is not to like, or rather, fear? Maul has been a favorite since he stunned audiences and ignited the second blade of his lightsaber to face Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. After his apparent death, many applauded when Star Wars canonically revived Maul (played by Ray Park and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz in The Phantom Menace) for the television shows Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels (voiced by Sam Witwer), and the movie Solo: A Star Wars Story. But despite his popularity, Darth Maul's repeated appearances stifle the saga, confuse Kenobi's arc, and feed into the franchise's pattern of trying to replicate past successes.
Star Wars Cannot (or Will Not) Escape Darth Maul
Obi-Wan Kenobi delivered the fatal blow and two halves of Darth Maul plunged hundreds of feet down a pit on Naboo — or so it seemed. Set reasonable arguments of plausibility and retconning aside for the moment. The franchise's decision to return and repeatedly deploy a character who barely had more lines than lightsaber blades stifles the plot and decreases the impact of each appearance. Maul was dead, but then he was everywhere. Need someone to pull the strings of the criminal underworld in The Clone Wars? Maul. Who is tough enough to bully Death Watch, the extremist wing of Mandalorian warriors? Call on Maul. How about a villain in Clone Wars Season 7 for Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) to prove her chops against? Maul again, an inevitable collision of popularity. Both live, and that's part of the problem.
After his revival for The Clone Wars, Maul survives because the franchise wants to keep deploying him, often to absurd ends. In Rebels, creator Dave Filoni has Maul tempt fledgling Jedi Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray) with the dark side. At one point, Maul even fights alongside the heroes, only to reveal his true villainy but endure anyway. Equally absurd, Maul's cameo in Solo is a surprise to the audience and the film's creators, and almost becomes satire. Fans, suspend your disbelief yet again: Maul was somehow the root of evil all along. He uselessly ignites his lightsaber during a hologram communication to threaten Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke), but by this point in the chronology, the terrifying Sith Lord of The Phantom Menace has become a campy shell of his former self. The stakes dwindle, his purpose wears thin from overuse, and Star Wars misses the chance to create new characters to overthrow Mandalore, test Ezra, lead Crimson Dawn, or tear Han Solo's (Alden Ehrenreich) love away. Instead, Maul appears repeatedly without definitive resolution, which shrinks the universe.
Even when Star Wars creates other villains, some of them mimic Maul. The Clone Wars introduces Maul's brother Savage Opress (Clancy Brown), a larger version of Maul with longer head spikes and different skin color to distinguish them. Revenge of the Sith even recycles aspects of Maul's fight with Kenobi. Perhaps inspired by the appeal of Maul's iconic double-bladed attack, George Lucas, almost comically, gives General Grievous (Matthew Wood) four twirling lightsabers. If there was another prequel movie, would the next villain have six lightsabers? Lucas also borrows fight choreography, with Kenobi dangling from a precipice before summoning a weapon through the Force and defeating his opponent. The franchise cannot shake its obsession even when Maul is absent.
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Darth Maul's Survival Muddles Obi-Wan Kenobi's Arc
CloseIn the climactic moment of The Phantom Menace, Obi-Kenobi appears to kill Darth Maul and deliver justice for his dying mentor, Qui-Gon Jinn. But if Maul did not actually die, what does it mean for Obi-Wan? Maul's survival robs Kenobi of victory and confuses the foundation of one of the saga's most important roles. Before the fight, no other Jedi except Jinn thought apprentice Kenobi was ready to become a Jedi Knight. Vanquishing Maul — overcoming the foe Jinn could not — proved Kenobi was a Jedi worthy of his mentor's mantle and of training Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd). Remarkable what slaying a Sith Lord will do for career prospects! Without this experience, Kenobi is just another Jedi, rather than the Order's most accomplished duelist. His credentials to train the Chosen One, and launch the trajectory of the Skywalker saga, disappear.
Had the Jedi — or the audience — known Maul escaped, would it make sense for Kenobi to train Anakin? Likely not. Perhaps the Jedi Council refuse to accept Anakin, or Kenobi continues his own training with another master. Or perhaps Kenobi emotionally promises to hunt down a wounded Maul rather than train Anakin. Remember, Kenobi questioned Jinn's decisions throughout The Phantom Menace. Maul's death gives Kenobi the opportunity, status, and conviction to fulfill Qui-Gon Jinn's dying wish and train Anakin Skywalker. The saga implies Kenobi's status is intact even when Maul returns. This tension is confusing and asks the audience to believe Lucas' original vision and Maul's renaissance simultaneously.
Maul's activities also hamper Kenobi's character through The Clone Wars and Rebels. Logically, revenge against Kenobi is one of Maul's primary motives. But no matter how sinister Sam Witwer whispers, snarls, or shouts "Kenobi," it rings hollow. What could possibly happen? Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen,David Prowse, James Earl Jones), not Maul, is Kenobi's primary concern and ultimate end. From the moment Maul's vengeance is revealed in The Clone Wars, we know he will fail.
He does get some revenge by killing Kenobi's forbidden love interest, the Mandalorian Duchess Satine Kryze (Anna Graves), but even this attempt at resolution for Maul requires the creators to perform plot acrobatics and turn the stoic, rule-following, zen-like Jedi master into an emotional romantic that does not quite fit. In broad strokes, all that is left for Maul is schemes that cause trouble. When Kenobi finally kills Maul once and for all in the Tatooine desert in Season 3 of Rebels, the moment feels far less climactic, consequential, and emotional than his original death on Naboo. By then, it no longer matters if Maul lives or dies, and his arc detracts from Kenobi's character. Thankfully, the Obi-Wan Kenobi series avoided another Maul appearance.
Star Wars Recycles Its Successes, to Detriment
Darth Maul's revival is part of a pattern of Star Wars reducing the quality of successful elements through repetition. The space battle in A New Hope preludes nearly identical, and predictable, sequences in Return of the Jedi, The Phantom Menace, and The Force Awakens. The Book of Boba Fett tries, with mixed results, to recast Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) as a hero to repeat the success of The Mandalorian, itself loosely inspired by the classic bounty hunter. The original and prequel trilogies cement the importance of family, but the theme starts to crumble when The Rise of Skywalker unexpectedly reveals Rey (Daisy Ridley) as a Palpatine, then lets her choose to be a Skywalker. The film's Tatooine sunset still pulls the heartstrings, but not quite as much as other sunsets that conclude Revenge of the Sith and The Last Jedi. At its best, Star Wars explores an ethical code and a big galaxy, but sometimes the safe ground is a trap.
Star Wars movies and shows are available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.
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