Emilia Clarke Could Star in a New ‘Star Wars’ Series, and It’s One That Fans Have Been Dying For
The Star Wars franchise has only strengthened in recent years, especially outside of the Skywalker saga. Sure, fans expected the three sequel films, however, with the debut of Disney+, the possibilities for series based in this world just kept growing. This past year alone brought The Mandalorian and the triumphant return of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Now, the fact that there are already a few series in development, television seems to be the new path for Star Wars. There will still be movies, but it seems like the shows are moving forward much faster. And a new rumor will intrigue fans of Crimson Dawn and one former Sith Lord.
A rumored Maul-focused series could come to Disney+
According to The Direct, their “insider” reported a rumor that Maul will “appear in multiple live-action Star Wars series for Disney+ in the coming years.” The shows that are currently in development, that fans know the names of, are the Cassian Andor and Obi-Wan Kenobi series.
Considering Maul’s vendetta against Kenobi, that’s most likely one of the live-action series Maul will appear in. However, it might be in flashbacks as The Direct suggests. The Untitled Obi-Wan Kenobi series is set to take place in 11 BBY, which is about eight years after the events of Revenge of the Sith and the Siege of Mandalore. When fans saw Maul in Solo: A Star Wars Story, it was a year later, in 10 BBY.
So, this means that an appearance in that series would show Maul before the latter part of Solo. But most importantly, a present-day Maul meeting with Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan would also change their fight years later, in Star Wars Rebels.
Regardless, this rumor hints at the other potential series in the works that viewers don’t even know about yet. Even more, The Direct reported that there’s a live-action series where Maul is the antagonist.
Emilia Clarke could potentially return as Qi’ra in a ‘prominent’ role
A series starring Maul is something fans have wanted for a while. Outside of Darth Vader, Maul is one of the fans’ favorite Big Bads. Sure, Darth Sidious is a big one, but fans love Vader and Maul in a whole different way.
The rumor goes on to talk about the fact that it’s not just Maul but would include a Crimson Dawn plot. This makes perfect sense since fans saw how and why it was formed in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and saw the actions of the organization in Solo. The ending of that film not only had a Maul cameo, but it hinted at more to come for Crimson Dawn, Maul, and Qi’ra.
Speaking of, The Direct noted that Emilia Clarke would return in this Disney+ series and her character is “expected to feature prominently.” Again, this pans out, since fans don’t know how her story ends nor what happens to Crimson Dawn (at least not in live-action form).
At the end of Solo, Qi’ra told Han that she was right behind him, but instead called Maul to tell him about Dryden Vos’ death and failure. Maul then told her to come to Dathomir (his homeworld and apparently where he was hiding out) so they could work more closely. This series would be the perfect way to expand on that and show just how much of a hold Maul’s crime syndicate had on the galaxy.
Would Sam Witwer return as the voice of Maul?
If this live-action series comes to fruition, it will most likely include Sam Witwer as the voice of Maul, although that wasn’t in the reported rumor about the series.
In an interview with the Star Wars Holocron blog in April, Witwer told them about how he originally wasn’t going to voice Maul in Solo. The original voice of Maul from The Phantom Menace, Peter Serafinowicz, had already recorded his lines. Ray Park was in the physical role of Maul, again just like in Episode I.
However, Witwer found out and looked at what they’d done so far, and stepped in because he thought it was all wrong for the character he created and fleshed out over several years on The Clone Wars. He also pointed out that in order to make the Shadow Collection/Crimson Dawn storyline stick out and be recognizable, you’d have to pander to the fans that know about it. The ones that also knew Witwer as Maul.
“So I did run the math and said, in this case, I’m actually going to play a card I haven’t played with Lucasfilm before and say, ‘You’re making a mistake if you don’t go for me,’” Witwer said. “Now, do whatever you have to do, try out whatever you have to try out, but I think you’re making a mistake if you don’t get me in there.”
It turned out to be one of the best surprises for fans, and Witwer fits the character best due to the fact that he’s voiced him for over a decade. Considering all of that, Witwer is a shoo-in for the role going forward too.
