The prequel trilogy of the Star Wars franchise started with Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, starring Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, and Natalie Portman in lead roles. The film had many iconic scenes, one of which involved Darth Maul fighting Neeson’s Qui-Gon Jinn and McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi. The scene was one of the highlights of the film and it proved how skilled and terrifying Darth Maul was. The character was able to fend for himself while fighting two Jedis, showing his immense capabilities and the level of training he has had.
The character of Darth Maul was portrayed by actor and martial artist Ray Park. The actor had some input that he wanted his character to have to make it more terrifying and make the fight more impactful. It was a rather visceral way to defeat Neeson’s character which did not sit well with franchise creator George Lucas.
Ray Park Wanted Darth Maul to Use His Horns to Harm Liam Neeson’s Character
Ray Park appeared at the 2016 Star Wars celebration event to talk about all things Star Wars and his character Darth Maul. He started to speak about the iconic scene from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace where Darth Maul fought Liam Neeson‘s Qui-Gon Jinn and Ewan McGregor‘s Obi-Wan Kenobi. Park revealed that he told George Lucas about a specific fight choreography that he wanted which was somewhat visceral and gritty than what was written in the script. He said (via YouTube),
“In the fight with Liam [Neeson, who played Qui-Gon Jinn] I wanted to use my horns to slash his chest before I killed him. It felt natural to do so. But George was like, no that’s too violent Ray.”
It is logical for Lucas to reject what Park had suggested since it would have been considered a far too violent scene for a PG-13 film. Nevertheless, it would have been interesting to see a more gritty and visceral showdown between the trio if the opportunity was given at the time.
Darth Maul Was Cut From Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi Show
Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi was released last year with a decent reception from fans. But an iconic franchise villain Darth Maul (and Ray Park) was supposed to return in the series but was later cut from the show. As sources told The Hollywood Reporter,
“Filoni and Favreau were concerned about Obi-Wan covering similar ground as Mandalorian — the Lone Wolf and Cub-like story of Kenobi coming out of hiding to protect a child-aged Luke Skywalker. Maul was one of the villains who would participate in the hunt for the pair; Vader was nowhere to be found in this faraway galaxy at this stage, according to those with knowledge of the project. Also, Filoni and Favreau pushed Chow and the show to “go bigger,” according to several sources. In any case, those concerns made their way to Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy, who pressed the pause button.”
It remains to be seen whether the character is brought back in future Star Wars projects, For now, fans can relive Park’s portrayal of Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace on Disney+
Sources: YouTube, The Hollywood Reporter
