Here’s Why Fans Want a Maul Spin-Off, ‘Son of Dathomir’ Adaptation
It’s no secret that The Clone Wars really has an impact on Star Wars. What started off as a kids’ animated show on Cartoon Network has grown into so much more. One of the biggest additions it gave to the franchise was the return of Maul, who Obi-Wan Kenobi cut in half in Episode I: The Phantom Menace. As fans know, it takes a lot to kill a Sith, apparently, and his return gave Obi-Wan a lot of grief. But the former Sith is undoubtedly a fan-favorite, and many want to see more of his story on screen.
Maul has one of the most complex stories in ‘Star Wars’ canon
As stated above, Maul was once Darth Maul, apprentice to the Sith Lord Palpatine, or Darth Sidious. He was “killed” after he maimed Qui-Gon Jinn and ended up on the planet Lotho Minor and was then saved by his brother Savage Oppress.
He wanted revenge on the galaxy and wanted power which he felt he was cheated out of. So, because of this, he ultimately went on a mission with his brother to create a band of outlaws he controlled and staged a coup on Mandalore. Death Watch, the terrorist Mandalore group was also a part of this plan, so they could look like good guys when they “saved” the planet.
“Son of Dathomir” is a big arc for Maul that fans wanted to see play out on ‘The Clone Wars’
Maul then took over Death Watch and, by extension, Mandalore at the end of Season 5. He’ll be back in a big way in the upcoming Season 7 of The Clone Wars on Disney+, but he was originally going to have more of his story play out on the show.
Before the popular series was canceled in 2013, the last two seasons were already written out. The whole point of the show was to bridge the end of Attack of the Clones, the Clone Wars, and Revenge of the Sith together and that covers a lot of ground. The “Son of Dathomir arc” starts after he’s captured by Sidious, which we see in “Lawless” in Season 5. It’s from the would-be scripts for the two canceled seasons that were made into a comic series in 2014.
The arc showed how he escaped that, which includes Mother Talzin’s death and included General Grievous and Count Dooku. Maul eventually ends up back on Mandalore during the Siege of Mandalore, where he has a major duel with Ahsoka which you can see in the trailer for Season 7.
Fans still really want to see this arc on ‘The Clone Wars’ or in a spin-off
Even though there are only 12 episodes in the final season and won’t be able to fit in the “Son of Dathomir” arc (as far as we know), fans were really hoping that Maul gets his time to shine. Reddit user u/obiwade wrote the comic was an “excellent series. Maul is such a great character. Really, this should be the ‘adult’ Star Wars trilogy.”
The Clone Wars probably won’t be able to show everything that happens to Maul before the Siege of Mandalore, which comes at the tail end of the season. So, another user, u/Darth-Joao-Jonas, said, “They need to recap the events of the arc for sure. At very least give a mention in some way. After all, not everyone knows about the comic book.” Odds are there will be a recap of what Maul’s been up to, but definitely not “Son of Dathomir” in its entirety.
This does make a good case to see “Son of Dathomir” as a spin-off. Solo: A Star Wars Story also added fuel to this idea, thanks to Maul showing up at the end. Now, these take place decades apart but it just goes to show that Maul is such an important character. A spin-off series or movie would likely be very well received.
