Darth Maul will not appear in Obi-Wan Kenobi, although he was originally going to be the main villain of the Disney+ series, but was cut in the rewrite.
Last week, the first trailer for Obi-Wan Kenobi, the most anticipated Star Wars series for Disney+, was released, with the return of Ewan McGregor as the Jedi Master and Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader (who does not appear in the trailer, but was seen in an impressive image).
The one that is not going to come out, except for a swerve or cameo at the very last minute, It’s Darth Maul. In fact, the character was going to have a major role in the series, but was cut in a total rewrite of the series, The Hollywood Reporter reveals.
The rewrite of the series removed the character of Maul, who was to be played by original actor Ray Park, but brought in new villains, including Darth Vader and the Imperial Inquisitors.
The series (previously planned as a movie) had its scripts ready in January 2020. However, Deborah Chow, series directortaught them to Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau, creators of The Mandalorian, which had just been released at the time.
Apparently, the original chapters of the Obi-Wan series were thematically very similar to The Mandalorian, western style with Kenobi being the lone wolf protector of a Jedi child, persecuted by the empire. In that plot Darth Maul would have been the main antagonistbut Darth Vader did not appearaccording to some sources.
Filoni and Favreau’s doubts reached Kathleeen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilmwho also suggested to Kennedy that “aspire to more“.
At the beginning of 2020, the scripts were rewritten and Maul was removed from the series. According to some sources, Ray Park had already started his training and perhaps recorded some test footage. As well changed to child actor Luke Skywalker (the current one is Grant Feely).
However, this only remains as a rumor: a Lucasfilm source has told THR that Darth Maul was never planned to be in the series.
Everything seems that Maul is not going to appear in the series, which, however, is going to drink a lot from the mythology of the saga, especially from the animated series. In addition to the inclusion of characters such as the Grand Inquisitor and the Third Sister, some cameos are expected…
Maul and Kenobi did see each other again in Star Wars Rebels, including a second duel in the sands of Tatooine. Obi-Wan Kenobi will have six chapters, and it opens May 25 on Disney+.
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This article was published in Hobby Consoles by Javier Escribano.
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism