Star Wars has officially redeemed the worst mistake George Lucas made with one of his characters. The Star Wars prequel trilogy faced a lot of criticism when it first premiered, some of it earned, much of it overblown or even downright hostile. Now, years later, the Star Wars prequels are finally being viewed with a different perspective, as their legacy continues to influence the franchise in unexpected and unprecedented ways. Some of the trilogy’s worst failures have even been rectified.
Famously, one of the biggest issues with the prequel trilogy was the way Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace handled the introduction and subsequent death of Darth Sidious’ first on-screen apprentice, Darth Maul. Despite Maul’s prominent inclusion in the prequel movie’s promotional materials — an understandable move, given his striking character design and iconic double-bladed lightsaber — the terrifying Zabrak was cut in half by a young Obi-Wan Kenobi, seemingly never to be seen again.
Disney’s Star Wars Has Improved Darth Maul’s Story
Darth Maul wielding his red lightsaber in Maul – Shadow Lord
While Maul’s revival was originally spearheaded by Lucas, Disney’s Star Wars has taken his story to the next level. In 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, Maul finally spoke on the big screen for the first time, his holographic cameo as the Crimson Dawn leader an obvious acknowledgment of his role as a criminal mastermind in the earlier seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Later, his short arc inDisney+’s The Clone Wars season 7 had an undeniable impact on Star Wars‘ wider story; his duel with Ahsoka Tano on Mandalore was one of the highlights of the show, if not the entire franchise.
Of course, long before Disney+ brought back The Clone Wars for a well-deserved but surprising seventh and final season, Disney had already introduced an older version of Maul during one of the galaxy’s most pivotal eras. Between Star Wars Rebels seasons 2 and 3, Maul proved he was still one of the most terrifying, persuasive, and manipulative characters in the galaxy, using Ezra Bridger’s desperation to defeat the Empire against him in a bid to take his revenge on Obi-Wan Kenobi once and for all.
Maul and Obi-Wan’s brief final duel under the moons of Tatooine was one of the most emotionally driven and beautifully choreographed fights in all of Star Wars, and finally gave Maul the chance to lay his hatred to rest. He knew Palpatine would one day be defeated. That was enough.
After all that, it was clear there was a lot more the franchise could explore with Maul. Disney+’s most recent animated show, Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, is not only an excellent character study but an incredible homage to George Lucas’ original sequel trilogy ideas. For the first time since his unfortunate first death, Maul is the hero of his own show, his criminal undertakings a way to wage his own war against the Empire’s oppression. He’s still desperate for an apprentice, and he finds one in Devon Izara, a young Twi’lek Order 66 survivor who reluctantly joins Maul’s side after the death of her Jedi Master.
In Lucas’ reported sequel trilogy scripts, Maul and his apprentice, a red-skinned Twi’lek named Darth Talon (inspired by the character’s story in the Star Wars Expanded Universe), would together lead a criminal empire while also terrorizing the galaxy as Sith, all while Leia and Luke try to rebuild the Republic and the Jedi, respectively. Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, set just after the fall of the Republic, brings Maul’s resurrection journey full circle, digging deeper into his trauma at Darth Sidious’ hands and his need for emotional connection. Maul has never been a better or more interesting character than he is right now.
Maul’s Star Wars Story Is Far From Over
Credit: Disney+ via MovieStillsDB
Thankfully, Lucasfilm has confirmed that Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord will return for season 2. Where Maul’s story goes from here is crucial. Solo‘s Dryden Vos is now actively involved in Maul’s Shadow Lord arc, meaning the second (and potentially third) season will likely focus on how Maul inserts himself as Crimson Dawn’s leader before the events of Solo: A Star Wars Story. Will Emilia Clarke’s character Qi’Ra, who’s had an incredible run in the Star Wars comics, make an appearance too?
A Long Time Ago · In a Galaxy Far, Far Away The Sith Trivia Challenge
⚔Dark LordsUnlimited power
⚡PowerForce lightning
📘LoreHolocrons
🗡BetrayalAlways two
🌈LegacyThe dark side
01
The Sith operate under a strict doctrine that limits their number to prevent infighting and self-destruction. This ancient code dictates that there can only be a master and an apprentice — no more, no less. What is this fundamental Sith principle called?
✓ Correct! The Rule of Two states “Always two there are — no more, no less. A master and an apprentice.” As Yoda himself observed, this principle ensured the Sith could operate in secret for a millennium while plotting the downfall of the Jedi Order.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is the Rule of Two. While the Sith Code exists separately as their philosophical creed, the Rule of Two is the specific doctrine limiting Sith to a master-apprentice pair. It allowed them to hide in the shadows for a thousand years.
02
The most powerful Sith Lord in the saga hid in plain sight as a seemingly benevolent politician, secretly manipulating the Clone Wars from both sides. He orchestrated the fall of the Republic and the destruction of the Jedi Order. Who is this ultimate Sith Master?
✓ Correct! Darth Sidious, publicly known as Senator and later Emperor Palpatine, is the mastermind behind everything. He engineered the Clone Wars, executed Order 66, turned Anakin Skywalker to the dark side, and ruled the galaxy as Emperor for over two decades. Ian McDiarmid’s portrayal is iconic.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is Darth Sidious, also known as Emperor Palpatine. Darth Vader was his apprentice, Darth Tyranus (Count Dooku) was a pawn, and Darth Plagueis was his former master. Sidious was the puppet master who destroyed the Republic from within.
03
Once the most promising Jedi Knight in the Order, this Chosen One was seduced to the dark side by Palpatine’s promise of saving his wife from death. After his devastating duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafar, he was rebuilt in a black life-support suit. Which Sith Lord is this?
✓ Correct! Darth Vader, born Anakin Skywalker, is the tragic heart of the Star Wars saga. His fall from heroic Jedi to Sith enforcer — and his ultimate redemption when he saves his son Luke by destroying the Emperor — is one of cinema’s greatest character arcs.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is Darth Vader. Darth Maul was Sidious’s first apprentice, Darth Revan is from the Old Republic era, and Darth Bane created the Rule of Two. Only Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader after his fall on Mustafar.
04
This fearsome, red-and-black-tattooed Zabrak wielded a double-bladed lightsaber and killed Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace. Though cut in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi, he survived through sheer hatred and returned with mechanical legs. Who is this relentless Sith assassin?
✓ Correct! Darth Maul was Palpatine’s first known apprentice, a weapon of pure rage trained from childhood. His survival after being bisected — fueled entirely by hatred for Obi-Wan — led to his expanded story in The Clone Wars and Rebels, where he became one of Star Wars’ most compelling villains.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is Darth Maul. Savage Opress was Maul’s brother, Asajj Ventress was Dooku’s dark side assassin, and the Grand Inquisitor served the Empire. Only Maul wielded the iconic double-bladed saber and killed Qui-Gon Jinn in that legendary duel.
05
This elegant former Jedi Master left the Order and became Sidious’s second apprentice, taking the Sith name Darth Tyranus. A master of Form II lightsaber combat with a curved-hilt saber, he led the Separatist movement. Played by Christopher Lee, who is this aristocratic Sith Lord?
✓ Correct! Count Dooku, Darth Tyranus, was the political face of the Separatist movement and a pawn in Sidious’s grand plan. A former student of Yoda himself, Dooku’s elegant fencing style and aristocratic demeanor made him unique among the Sith. Palpatine ordered Anakin to execute him in Revenge of the Sith.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is Count Dooku, also known as Darth Tyranus. Mace Windu was a Jedi Master, Qui-Gon was Obi-Wan’s master killed by Maul, and General Grievous was a cyborg commander but not Force-sensitive. Dooku was the fallen Jedi who became Sidious’s Sith apprentice.
06
Approximately a thousand years before the events of the saga, one ancient Sith Lord recognized that the Sith kept destroying themselves through infighting. He wiped out the existing Sith Order and established the Rule of Two, ensuring the dark side would be passed from master to apprentice in secret. Who created this doctrine?
✓ Correct! Darth Bane, who appeared as a Force ghost in The Clone Wars, was the visionary who realized the Sith’s numbers were their weakness. By limiting them to two, he ensured each generation would be stronger than the last — a chain that ultimately led to Palpatine’s galaxy-conquering scheme a millennium later.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is Darth Bane. Darth Revan was a legendary Sith from the Old Republic, Darth Nihilus consumed entire planets through the Force, and Darth Malgus led the Sith Empire. But it was Bane who created the Rule of Two that shaped all Sith to follow.
07
In the sequel trilogy, the grandson of Darth Vader was seduced to the dark side by Supreme Leader Snoke. He wielded an unstable, crossguard lightsaber with a cracked kyber crystal and killed his own father, Han Solo, in The Force Awakens. Who is this conflicted dark side warrior?
✓ Correct! Kylo Ren, born Ben Solo to Han Solo and Leia Organa, was torn between the light and dark throughout the sequel trilogy. His worship of his grandfather Vader’s legacy and his crackling crossguard saber made him visually iconic. Like Vader before him, he ultimately found redemption, sacrificing himself to save Rey.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is Kylo Ren, born Ben Solo. Snoke was his dark side mentor (later revealed as a Palpatine puppet), General Hux was a First Order officer, and Darth Revan existed thousands of years earlier. Kylo Ren carried the Skywalker bloodline’s burden into the sequel era.
08
In one of the saga’s most chilling scenes, Palpatine tells Anakin the “Tragedy” of a Sith Lord so powerful he could use the Force to influence midi-chlorians to create life and prevent death. His apprentice killed him in his sleep. Who is this legendary Sith whose tale tempted Anakin to the dark side?
✓ Correct! “Did you ever hear the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?” is one of the most meme-worthy and narratively crucial lines in Star Wars. Plagueis was Palpatine’s own master, and the irony is thick — Palpatine tells Anakin the story as bait, having murdered Plagueis himself. It’s not a story the Jedi would tell you.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is Darth Plagueis the Wise. Darth Bane created the Rule of Two centuries earlier, Darth Vitiate ruled the Old Republic Sith Empire, and Darth Sion was sustained by pain. Plagueis could cheat death itself — ironic, since he couldn’t save himself from his own apprentice, Palpatine.
Trial Complete Your Dark Side Record
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Are you a Sith Lord — or just another youngling?
Then, of course, there’s the question of Devon’s apprenticeship. Maul has been after an apprentice since his brother, Savage Oppress, died during a three-way duel with Darth Sidious in The Clone Wars, a desperate bid to fill a hole in his heart and make himself stronger against Sidious and now, of course, the one and only Darth Vader. After Maul’s incredible confrontation with Vader on Janix in the season 1 finale of Shadow Lord, Maul’s hatred for Sidious and the Sith will run deeper than ever. Hopefully, the show will eventually also depict how Maul ended up stranded alone on the Sith planet Malachor in Star Wars Rebels.
While George Lucas took the first step in fixing his Darth Maul mistake, recent Star Warsstories have taken the character to a whole new level, exploring his history with his Master, his deep-rooted trauma, and his never-ending ambition. Few characters in Star Wars have enjoyed such an impressive, impactful, and wholly deserved comeback.
All episodes of Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord season 1 are available to stream now, exclusively on Disney+.
