WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Solo: A Star Wars Story, in theaters now.


He met his end at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the closing moments of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Or so we thought... until he returned in The Clone Wars to enact revenge on his rivals and masters. More recently, with his appearances in Star Wars: Rebels, Darth Maul became a thread that connected two eras of the Star Wars Universe.

With that series' conclusion, it seemed like Maul's story was over, both past and present. So color us surprised to see none other than Darth Maul lurking behind the villainous subplot of Solo: A Star Wars Story. But what may come across to some fans as fan service could actually open the floodgates to a more connected Star Wars universe than ever.

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A Brief History of Darth Maul

There was something captivating about the lead-up to 1999's Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Part of that was due to the fact it had been so long since fans had a chance to explore the Star Wars universe in live-action, a chance to revisit a galaxy far, far away and see it on everything from commemorative Pepsi cans to PEZ dispensers. But perhaps the most captivating and mysterious part of the film was its villain, the black cloak-clad, crimson-faced, spiky-headed terror that is Darth Maul. Sure, we were all waiting to have some blanks filled in as to how Anakin Skywalker goes from a spunky little kid to a galactic fear monger, but there was something new, something dangerous, about Maul.

So when he died at the end of The Phantom Menace, fans were confused. The promise of a new, terrifying threat turned out to be empty, leaving us with just The Emperor and Darth Vader. The creator of Star Wars: The Clone Wars obviously felt similarly, so when they had a chance to resurrect the fan favorite character, they took it, and Maul was back in the game.

Darth Maul in front of Savage Opress and Pre Vizla in The Clone Wars.

But Clone Wars' Maul wasn't the silent, deadly character he had been in The Phantom Menace. Now, he was an articulate, battered foe hellbent on revenge on not only Obi-Wan, the man who cost him his legs and livelihood, but on Emperor Palpatine. It was a dynamic we hadn't seen, a mysterious and unpredictable threat lurking and advancing on the good and bad guys.

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We learned plenty about Maul's heritage and family tree, like the vicious Savage Opress, through episodes of the show and an in -canon comic book, Son of Dathomir, one of the few comic stories to survive the Legends purge following Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm.

Maul later made the jump to Star Wars: Rebels for one final showdown with the aged Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine, where he finally met his end. With this, the two cartoon series had been linked, but that was nothing new. After all, Ahsoka Tano had already done that.

And now there's the prospect of more Darth Maul in our future.

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Darth Maul's brief appearance at the end of Solo: A Star Wars Story could be seen as little more than a nod to fans of the cartoon series. But with Qi'ra now in league with one of the most vicious Sith-adjacent characters in the galaxy, there's an unspoken promise of more to come.

Maul speaks, for a moment, and ignites his iconic double-bladed lightsaber. He looks worn and old, but more articulate than ever. This isn't him coming back to life in a comic or cartoon -- it's something much bigger. It's the bridging of the animated series to live-action, and a commitment to canon.

You might be thinking, "Hasn't this happened already?" Sure, the Ghost from Rebels appeared in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and Saw Gerrera from both The Clone Wars and Rebels appeared in that film as well. But none of those Easter eggs or legitimate appearances required much knowledge of the characters' pasts to understand their role in the movies.

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If you didn't know Gerrera was in The Clone Wars, you might just think he's a brand new character. The situation with Maul is different. When general audiences roll credits on Solo, they'll be confused.

"Who is that?" audiences are asking. "I thought he died...?"

This is where things get really interesting. Maul's return to live-action means that there's a willingness from Disney and Lucasfilm to not only address the storylines of the animated shows directly, but a chance to make good on some of the promises of the Prequel Trilogy.

With Maul set up as the one pulling the strings in Solo, could we see a live-action take on the events of Rebels? Could Maul lurk for a whole set of films? Given the hints at Tatooine throughout the film (though this could just be setting up Han Solo meeting Jabba for the first time), it's hard to imagine a scenario that doesn't place the rumored Kenobi film in line with Solo and it's potential sequels.

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But what else does this barrier break mean? It means that some of the best parts of The Clone Wars and Rebels could make their way into the films. Imagine an Ahsoka Tano origin film, including flashbacks of her time spent with Anakin and Obi-Wan in The Clone Wars. Given Maul's increased importance to the shows, what's to stop a character like Ahsoka from popping up in Episode IX in a continued quest to establish the "greyness" of the Force?

It also seems to be the reverse of what Marvel Studios has done with regards to its television shows set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But hey, maybe that's changing too. With the reintroduction (albeit it in the past) of Phil Coulson to next year's Captain Marvel, we might just be a seeing a Disney more committed to its connected universes than ever before.

On its own, Solo may not seem like it has high stakes for the Star Wars universe since we know, roughly, who lives and dies, but it sets an interesting and exciting precedent for the future of the franchise's side stories. And if fans weren't sold with Rogue One, this should prove that filling the gaps in the saga is a worthy task -- one Darth Maul is more than able to undertake.

In theaters now, director Ron Howard’s Solo: A Star Wars Story stars Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo, Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, Emilia Clarke as Qi’ra, and Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca. They’re joined by Thandie Newton as Val, Phoebe Waller-Bridge L3-37, Paul Bettany as Dryden Vos, and Woody Harrelson as Tobias Beckett.

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