‘Star Wars’: Maul’s Story Should Continue in a Disney+ Series, Fans Say
Now that The Mandalorian has proved that a live-action Star Wars series can go over like gangbusters, fans are eager to see various popular characters get their own series. Being supposedly dead at some point is hardly an obstacle.
Specifically, fans would like to see more of Darth Maul, the Sith apprentice that cut such a memorable figure in The Phantom Menace. While no such series is known to be in the works, anything feels possible given the bounty of Star Wars series Disney has on deck.
What happened to Darth Maul?
Fans well remember Maul as the apprentice of Darth Sidious, better known as Emperor Palpatine. He became an instant fan favorite in Episode I, partly for his deft fighting moves, and partly because he looked like a demon that broke out of the underworld.
So fans were shocked and even disappointed when Obi-Wan Kenobi sliced him in half after Maul had run through his master Qui-Gon with his double-bladed lightsaber. Like Boba Fett before him, Darth Maul seemed to be a cool-looking villain who met his end too quickly. As Darth Vader said in Empire Strikes Back, “All too easy.”
So fans who only followed the movies were quite surprised when they saw Darth Maul at the end of Solo conspiring with Emilia Clarke. As a Vanity Fair article explained, “the camera revealed some robotic limbs on his lower half. That’s because unbeknownst to Star Wars movie-only fans, Maul has been living out an entire post-Phantom chapter in two popular Lucasfilm animated series: The Clone Wars and Rebels.”
Just like Marvel characters, Star Wars characters have a way of not staying dead.
What do fans want from a Darth Maul series?
A discussion on Reddit about a Star Wars series actually does not focus on Darth Maul at first. It focuses instead on Clarke’s character, Qi’ra.
The topic starter writes, “Rewatching Solo tonight. I loved Emilia’s take on a femme fatale and want more. Such more potential there. Anyone else interested in continuation to her story in (a) Crimson Dawn series on Disney+?”
Fans are definitely interested, with one responding, “”There is this big hole in Maul’s story post Clone Wars Season 7 and pre-Rebels. I’m sure there are plans to fill it. I would be interested to see what role Qi’ra plays and see some more of pre-Solo Vos.”
The irony of all this is that Solo: A Star Wars Story lost money. The project had been troubled, with the original directors Chris Lord and Tim Miller being fired and replaced by Ron Howard, and the bad buzz seemed to feed on itself to the point that Solo only became interesting as a failure.
That said, there is still a fan push to continue the story, with one writing, “Honestly I think they should’ve stuck with the Crimson Dawn movie trilogy plan. I know Solo underperformed but the plans were made and the groundwork set so I say just go through with it. Disney can make up the loss with merchandise sales in like 4 minutes.”
Lucasfilm might already have a villain show in the works
Disney has made it clear that Disney+ will be their primary outlet in the future, to the point that they have no less than 10 shows in development, per Screen Rant. While none of these focus specifically on Maul, fans do get their wish for a Solo continuation via a Lando Calrissian series.
There was a Marvel-style post-credits scene featuring Boba Fett returning to Tatooine and asserting his power. Then there was a title The Book of Boba Fett, indicating he was getting his own series. If one underused fan favorite villain can get his own show, maybe another can too.
