George Lucas’ Star Wars franchise features several iconic villains, including Darth Vader, whose presence was integral to the success of the original trilogy of films. As a result, when Lucas decided to work on the prequel trilogy, he wanted to create an antagonistic force that could rival the on-screen presence of Vader.
As a result, Lucas created the fan-favorite character of Darth Maul, who was introduced in the first prequel trilogy film. However, Maul was killed off unceremoniously at the end of the film. Nonetheless, Lucas eventually regretted the decision to kill off such a beloved and fascinating character. Here is what George Lucas has said about Darth Maul’s creation and the decision to kill him off.
George Lucas Talks Creating Darth Maul to Replace Darth Vader For the Star Wars Prequels
George Lucas returned to write and direct the first film in the prequel trilogy of Star Wars movies, with 1999’s The Phantom Menace. The film introduced the character of Darth Maul, with actor Ray Park physically playing the role and Peter Serafinowicz voicing him. Maul is the Sith apprentice of Palpatine.
Lucas spoke about the creation of Maul in an in-depth interview with Empire, explaining why fans were fascinated with the character and found him cool. He said:
“Obviously, everyone likes the villain better than they like the heroes, that’s sort of a tradition. And obviously, I was trying to make a villain who was sufficient to replace Darth Vader because Vader was such a great villain.”
Lucas added that initially, he planned to kill off Darth Maul during a battle with Obi-Wan, where the former falls down a pit. However, Lucas changed the scene to depict Maul getting cut in half so that the fans would be convinced that the character was permanently dead.
George Lucas Regretted Killing Off Darth Maul Too Soon and Planned to Revive Him
In the same interview with Empire, Lucas stated he wanted to make Maul’s death appear permanent as Palpatine searching for new apprentices was going to be a major plot point in the prequels. However, years later, Lucas would come to regret his decision to kill off Maul too soon, especially because of his fan-favorite status.
According to producer Henry Gilroy, Lucas originally planned to reveal that General Grievous was Darth Maul, who had survived being cut into half. However, this plan was soon abandoned. Nonetheless, Lucas’ regret over killing off Maul was evident when he instructed Dave Filoni to resurrect the character for Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Filoni revealed that Lucas had ordered him to revive Maul after he became fascinated with the character while developing Savage Opress for the animated series. Thus, Maul eventually returned first in The Clone Wars and later in Star Wars Rebels.
Lucas also planned on including Maul in his sequel trilogy before the Disney takeover forced him to abandon his plans. Nonetheless, Maul made his impending return to the Star Wars films with Solo: A Star Wars Story, appearing briefly as the head of the criminal syndicate Crimson Dawn.
Thus, it is safe to say that Lucas’ regret over killing off Maul too soon must have subsided by now.
The Star Wars films and other spin-offs are streaming on Disney+.
