The Phantom Menace marks the start of the prequels era of the Star Wars franchise and the film recently completed 25 years. Despite its mixed reception, the film is remembered for its villains, particularly the Sith Lord Darth Maul, who eventually became a fan-favorite character through an expanded focus in the spin-off media.
During the early stages of the film’s development, actor Benicio del Toro was in talks to play the role of Darth Maul. However, del Toro had to eventually drop out, leading to Ray Park playing the role. As a result, fans must be curious to learn why del Toro exited the project, and here is everything you need to know about the casting choice for Darth Maul.
Marvel Star Benicio del Toro Almost Played Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace
Actor Benicio del Toro is known for his roles in critically acclaimed films such as Traffic and Sicario, with the former netting him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The actor is also known for his work in the MCU, playing the role of Taneleer Tivan / The Collector in several installments.
Back in the late 90s, del Toro was once the first choice to play Sith Lord Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace. The actor was expected to play the apprentice of Darth Sidious, who comes into conflict with Obi-Wan Kenobi and his master. However, reports indicate that director George Lucas significantly altered the role of Darth Maul, cutting down most of his dialog.
After most of the character’s lines were cut from the script, del Toro allegedly exited the project as he did not seem interested in perusing a part with no dialog. Instead, martial artist Ray Park was chosen to play Darth Maul, whose performance in the role has been well received despite the little screen time of the character in the final film.
Benicio del Toro Eventually Appeared in Star Wars But Fans Still Love Ray Park
Despite exiting The Phantom Menace, Benicio del Toro eventually appeared in the galaxy far, far away in 2017. The actor played the role of DJ, an underworld codebreaker in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The film remains del Toro’s only appearance in the franchise to date and is arguably a less meaty and memorable role when compared to the popularity of Darth Maul.
Despite his apparent demise in the first prequel film, Maul was revived for the Clone Wars animated series, where his character was greatly expanded upon. Meanwhile, Ray Park’s performance in the first film has also received positive reactions from fans, who have clamored to see the actor reprise his role in a live-action project for quite some time.
Park provided the motion capture for the character for Maul’s cameo in 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story. Park was expected to reprise the role in live-action for the 2022 miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi until a creative overhaul saw the character being written out of the script. Nonetheless, Park’s performance in The Phantom Menace remains memorable for fans while del Toro’s brief appearance hardly gets a mention among the fanbase.
The Phantom Menace and other Star Wars projects are streaming on Disney+.
