Voice actor Sam Witwer, who voiced Darth Maul in animated shows such as Star Wars: The Clone Wars, recently expressed disagreement with Lucasfilm's initial plans for Maul in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
While speaking with SW Holocron, Witwer elaborated on his first impression on the original script. He stated, "[There were] a lot of things in this script where he growls, he does this, he does that." The actor -- who lends his voice to Darth Maul in the animated Star Wars series -- then discussed his insight into the character, stating, "I don't think those are right and I can tell you why I don't think those are right." Witwer added. "I can tell you what I think he should say instead."
After reading the original screenplay, he made his thoughts and ideas be known to Lucasfilm while positioning himself to take on the role. Originally, the film's producers wanted The Phantom Menance's Peter Serafinowicz to reprise the role of the iconic Star Wars villain. "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... '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.'"
Witwer then explained that several camps formed within Lucasfilm comprised of those who were aware of The Clone Wars series and those that weren't, the latter of which included producers attached to Solo: A Star Wars Story. Those that were aware of the series proved to be supportive, pushing for Witwer's involvement, "There were a lot of different people trying to make them aware." He continued. "And then once the Maul thing wasn't working and they were asking the question of 'Do we do this? Do we not do this?' That's when those voices came out loud and clear and said 'No, no, no. You can make it work but you have to get this guy and you have to get Dave Filoni on board. You can't actually make it work without these guys.' That's how I understand it all went down."
Witwer concluded by first clarifying that he had nothing against the producers who opted for Peter Serafinowicz, "They thought they were doing their due diligence by looking through the production notes of The Phantom Menace… Once they realized damn, we didn't totally research that, they brought me on board."
Solo: A Star Wars Story stars Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo, Woody Harrelson as Tobias Beckett, Emilia Clark as Qi'ra and Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian. The film is available to stream on Disney+.