Sorry, Sith Lord fans, but Darth Maul likely won’t be appearing in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series starring Ewan McGregor. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the villain was originally planned to appear in the Star Wars show, but the scenes were scrapped during a creative overhaul that instead added in Darth Vader.
The report even says actor Ray Park, who portrayed Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace and Solo: A Star Wars Story, was “in active prep” to reprise the role in the live-action Disney+ series. However, that all changed when original Obi-Wan writer Hossein Amini and director Deborah Chow showed Lucasfilm their scripts.
Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau allegedly had concerns about the story covering similar ground as The Mandolorian since Obi-Wan was set to center around its titular character emerging from hiding to protect a young Luke Skywalker. During this stage of development, Maul was to be one of the key villains chasing down the two, with Vader not even included in the story.
These concerns were apparently enough for Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy to put the brakes on the story. The actor that was previously chosen to portray Skywalker was replaced with relative newcomer Grant Feely (Creepshow) in the process.
However, THR does note that a source at Lucasfilm refutes the report, saying Maul was never intended at all to return for the show.
Obi-Wan Kenobi debuts on Disney+ on May 25th. It is set between the events of the Star Wars movies Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, during which Luke Skywalker is just a boy, and his father Anakin Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) is filling the galaxy with terror.
Bonnie Piesse returns as Aunt Beru, with Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell, and Benny Safdie rounding out the cast. Check out the recently released trailer here.