How George Lucas Masterminded Darth Maul's Clone Wars Resurrection

Summary George Lucas always knew he made a mistake killing Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace.

Lucas considered bringing Darth Maul back in the prequel trilogy itself, but ultimately decided The Clone Wars was the right place to do this.

Darth Maul's resurrection was Lucas' brainchild, and shocked his fellow creators.

George Lucas was the mastermind behind Darth Maul's resurrection in Star Wars: The Clone Wars - a decision that surprised even his fellow creatives. Palpatine's first apprentice in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Darth Maul was apparently killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi at the end of the movie. Surprisingly, though, he would return years later as a major villain in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Darth Maul had survived his "death" on Naboo, one of the most staggering retcons in Star Wars history, and it was all George Lucas' idea.

Even Lucas' creative team were taken aback. Lucas' protégé Dave Filoni recalled his amazement in an interview published in Star Wars Insider #134: "When I saw Phantom Menace, and I saw Darth Maul get cut in half, I thought, 'Oh yeah, George definitely doesn't want that guy coming back.' And then many years later, I'm in a room with him at Skywalker Ranch, and he says, 'This Savage Opress thing is going really well... we're going to bring Darth Maul back now.'" The introduction of the Nightsisters of Dathomir made this shocking twist possible.

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George Lucas Knew Killing Darth Maul Was A Mistake

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There's abundant evidence George Lucas always knew he made a mistake killing Maul in The Phantom Menace. The Sith Lord's fearsome visage made him a massive draw for the movie, and Darth Maul appeared prominently in trailers and promotional materials, but his fate had already been sealed. Lucas considered bringing Maul back as the true identity of General Grievous, but he abandoned that plan - even if he did repurpose the cybernetics idea when he would eventually resurrect Maul in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Lucas' sequel trilogy plans would have featured Darth Maul as the main villain

Incredibly, Lucas' sequel trilogy plans would have featured Darth Maul as the main villain - now a crime lord, master of a character named Darth Talon who had been pulled out of Legends. These plans were nixed, of course, but they prove just how much Lucas came to love Darth Maul. Star Wars: The Clone Wars simply became the right place for him to return.

Oddly enough, Lucasfilm did ultimately find a way to honor Lucas' plans for Maul. Solo: A Star Wars Story's ending revealed Darth Maul was the founder of the crime syndicate known as Crimson Dawn, a status quo very similar to the one in Lucas' sequel trilogy. It had been shifted around in the timeline somewhat, taking place in the Dark Times of the Empire's reign, but the idea was pretty much the same. Sadly, it has yet to be developed in further details after Solo's disastrous box office performance, but hopefully that will change with time.