There have been many what-might-have-been stories about the Star Wars franchise, but that doesn’t mean that all the lost plans for the franchise are still waiting to be told. In a recent interview with /Film Star Wars: The Clone Wars writer Henry Gilroy revealed how George Lucas considered making a significant change to the character of General Grievous in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, which would have seen the character actually being previous Star Wars villain Darth Maul in disguise.
Darth Maul was the main antagonist of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and seemingly met his end at the hands of Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, who sliced him in half at the conclusion of their lightsaber duel. However, Lucas’ plan for Maul would have seen him later returning as General Grievous, but this was later abandoned, and Grievous was given his own backstory. A Gilroy explained:
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Of course, Maul did return in The Clone Wars series, having been said to have survived his “death” and been given robotic legs to continue his quest for revenge on Kenobi. However, having last been seen being bested by Kenobi once again in Star Wars Rebels, many do not want to see him return again for fear it will ruin what is seen as a perfect ending to his story.
“George was considering that Grievous was Maul behind the armor plate. It made sense. He’s cut in half, and he’s in this robot body or whatever. I’m glad that Grievous is his own thing anyway, but I thought it was interesting that the concept guys almost talked George into that."
Will Darth Maul Return to the Star Wars Franchise In a Live-Action Project?
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The character of Darth Maul is considered by many to be one of the best characters in the Star Wars franchise, and that means that there could always be a chance that he will be seen again in some capacity. When Ewan McGregor was announced to be reprising his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi, there were immediately rumors that Ray Park could also be reprising his role as Maul.
Of course, it turned out that Darth Vader was the ultimate villain of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and few were disappointed with the clash between Vader and Kenobi that resulted in Anakin Skywalker being lost to the Dark Side. The original plans for the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, however, included the return of Darth Maul, but these were abandoned in favor of giving fans an epic rematch between the franchise’s oldest adversaries.
Whether Ray Park will get the chance to play Darth Maul again following his appearance in Solo: A Star Wars Story is unknown. Still, there are many more Star Wars projects to come, including a possible second season of Obi-Wan Kenobi, that he could even make a cameo appearance. While there has been no mention of such an appearance being on the cards just yet, the Star Wars franchise has pulled many unexpected franchise returns out of the bag in the last couple of years, and Darth Maul could be another waiting in the wings for his moment.
