The announcement ofMaul: Shadow Lordproves above all else that his death inStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menacewas a mistake, marking the fourth resurrection for the character.Star Wars’newMaul: Shadow Lordshowwas announced in April 2025 and is currently set to be released on Disney+ at an unspecified point in 2026. This announcement came at one ofStar Wars Celebration 2025’s many panelswhich celebrated 20 years of Lucasfilm Animation, reviving Maul once again in the franchise.
Interestingly, evenGeorge Lucas knew he made a mistake with Maul. Since the release ofStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menacein 1999, Lucas has been outspoken about his regret over deciding to kill Maul, leading theStar Warscreator to toy with the idea of bringing him back inStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.Lucas’Star Warssequel plansthen hugely included Maul, yet Disney’s trilogy went in another direction. Overall, it is clear Maul’s original death was a mistake, proven beyond all doubt by the character’s fourStar Warsresurrections.
Darth Maul’s Clone Wars Resurrection Explained
The First Of Many
The first of four Maul resurrections inStar Warscame inThe Clone Wars. The show was crafted by Lucas alongside Dave Filoni, with the former insisting that Maul be brought back from the dead over a decade afterStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.In 2011, the season 4episode ofStar Wars: The Clone Warstitled “Witches of the Mist” first revealed that Maul was still alive after being bisected by Obi-Wan Kenobi on Naboo. Maul’s long-lost brother, Savage Opress, was introduced in this arc ofThe Clone Wars’timeline.
The leader of the Nightsisters, Mother Talzin, instructed Savage to find Maul and be trained in the ways of the dark side.Maul was found by Savage Opress in the Outer Rim, driven completely insanewith little remnants of identity or memory. The only thing Maul remembered was a lust for revenge against the Jedi. This need for revenge - and the anger, pain, and suffering it brought Maul - was revealed to have kept him alive sinceThe Phantom Menace, with Maul finding cybernetic leg enhancements on the planet of Lotho Minor.
Opress then took Maul back to Dathomir, allowing Mother Talzin to use her magik to restore the latter’s mind. After Maul’s memories, mind, and sense of identity were renewed, he set out across the galaxy with the sole purpose of getting revenge against Kenobi. This led to severalObi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul duelsacross the Clone Wars era ofStar Wars.In the final moments ofStar Wars: The Clone Wars, Maul was shown escaping Order 66.
Darth Maul Returned In Star Wars Rebels
Several Years After His Clone Wars Resurrection
The second “resurrection” of Maul inStar Warscame inStar Wars Rebels, the spiritual sequel toStar Wars: The Clone Wars. After Maul’s ending in the latter show - which, at the time ofRebels' premiere in 2014, was more ambiguous as season 7 had not yet been released - many were uncertain what the future held for the character. That was until 2016 with the release ofStar Wars Rebels' season 2 finale, “Twilight of the Apprentice.” This episode saw the Jedi of theStar Wars Rebelscrew, Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger, travel to the Sith planet of Malachor.
The hermit is revealed as Maul, who wished to find a Sith holocron to take down Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine, whom he realized was the source of his decades-long pain…
Alongside Ahsoka Tano, the duo sought a way to defeat the Empire and the manyInquisitors ofStar Wars. During this episode, Ezra was separated from his friends, encountering a hooded hermit who insisted they sought the same thing: a way to defeat their enemies. Eventually, the hermit is revealed as Maul, who wished to find a Sith holocron to take down Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine, whom he realized was the source of his decades-long pain and suffering.
The reason as to why this reveal inStar Wars Rebelscan be classed as a resurrection of the character is the sheer lack of storytelling involving him at the time. This episode ofStar Wars Rebelsaired in 2016, marking the first appearance of Maul sinceStar Wars: The Clone Warsseason 5, episode 16, “The Lawless.” The latter ended with Maul’s crime syndicate operation being destroyed by Darth Sidious, leading the dark side master to imprison his former apprentice after a lengthy duel.
After the cancellation ofStar Wars: The Clone Wars, only the comic book titledSon of Dathomirrevealed what became of Maul after that, but even this story left-off before the Clone Wars concluded. As such, there was an over 15-year gap in-universe for Maul’s story, with these events shrouded in mystery. No one suspected the character would be seen again, meaningMaul’s appearance inStar Wars Rebels' season 2 finale was nothing short of a second miraculous resurrectionfor the fan-favorite former Sith. This provided Maul with a new storyline until his actual death in a climactic final duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Star Wars Brought Maul Back Again In Solo: A Star Wars Story
This Time In Live-Action
After Maul’s real death in one ofStar Wars Rebels' best episodes, many once more assumed that his storyline was finished completely. However,Star Warsdecided to throw another curveball with the release ofSolo: A Star Wars Storyin 2018. A spin-off movie detailing the origins of Han Solo and Chewbacca was perhaps the least likely place to possibly find the character of Maul, yet there he was in one of the story’s final scenes.Appearing for the first time in live-action since his “death” in 1999,Solomarked a third resurrectionof sorts for the character.
Maul’s appearance inSoloblended his two past forms: Ray Park provided the body as he did inThe Phantom Menace, with Sam Witwer providing the voice as he did inThe Clone WarsandRebels.
Maul’s appearance inSolointended to bridge the gap betweenStar Wars: The Clone WarsandStar Wars Rebels, detailing the character’s time as the leader of a crime syndicate. Unfortunately,Solohas the unwanted record of being the lowest-rankedStar Warsmovie at the box office.Solo’s box office bomb meant that any plans for a sequel were stalled, rendering any teases of Maul’s future involvement null and void. Some comic books have fleshed out what Maul’s role would have been in this storyline, but, on the whole, his third resurrection was sadly a huge missed opportunity.
Star Wars' Maul Spinoff Has Made The Character Lucas Killed A Star
Finally, the fourth - and most recent - resurrection Maul has received inStar Warsis perhaps the biggest, as it has made him a star at last. Star Wars Celeberation 2025 saw Dave Filoni reveal the next installment in Lucasfilm Animation’s repertoire -Maul: Shadow Lord.The series is set to take place one year after Maul was seen escapingStar Wars’Order 66duringThe Clone Wars.Based on the reveals of the trailer shown to those in attendance at SWCJ 2025,Maul: Shadow Lordwill act as a predecessor toSolo.
TheStar WarsTV showwill explore Maul reaffirming his place as a crime lord in the galaxy’s underworld. Moreover, Maul will train an apprentice, seemingly based on Darth Talon, a character fromStar WarsLegends whom George Lucas wished to make Maul’s trainee in his sequels. All of this means that, over 26 years after Maul’s first “death” at the hands of George Lucas,Star Warsis making the character a leading name in his own project. If anything, this makes Maul’s fourthStar Warsresurrection his most important, fully solidifying his “death” as one of the franchise’s biggest mistakes.
