Rumors circulating that Darth Maul (Ray Park) was set to appear in Obi-Wan Kenobi are reportedly wrong to one Lucasfilm executive who just used some vulgar language to bash fan theories.
This week, The Hollywood Reporter claimed that The Mandalorian showrunner Jon Favreau and executive producer Dave Filoni axed Sith Lord Darth Maul from appearing as the main antagonist of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the limited streaming series joining the Star Wars franchise on May 25.
Nonetheless, Filoni and Favreau reportedly advocated for the Kenobi crew, and the series’ director Deborah Chow think outside of the box, ultimately replacing Maul with Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) in a “creative overhaul”:
Sources note that Filoni and Favreau were concerned about Obi-Wan covering similar ground as Mandalorian — the Lone Wolf and Cub-like story of Kenobi coming out of hiding to protect a child-aged Luke Skywalker. Maul was one of the villains who would participate in the hunt for the pair; Vader was nowhere to be found in this faraway galaxy at this stage, according to those with knowledge of the project. Also, Filoni and Favreau pushed Chow and the show to “go bigger,” according to several sources. In any case, those concerns made their way to Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy, who pressed the pause button.
Credit: Lucasfilm
The report continues:
In the overhaul, however, Maul was written out. One source says it was Filoni that conceptually keyed in on a way for Vader to be brought back as the big bad, with the Grand Inquisitor, a character made popular by Filoni in the animated series Star Wars Rebels, also put into the story.
Following these revolutionary claims from THR, which didn’t include any specific quotes from Dave Filoni or Jon Favraeu, sparked a flurry of social media buzz and theories from every Star Wars fan about how Darth Maul could have fit into Obi-Wan Kenobi’s story before Hayden Christensen replaced the Sith Lord.
Following the episodic and overwhelming season two finale of The Mandalorian, many fans shared their honest reactions live on social media when Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), many of which were filled with tears of joy.
One of these fans, YouTube powerhouse Star Wars theory, got a little teary-eyed out of pure excitement and love for Skywalker, later citing that Mark Hamill’s Star Wars character was one of the biggest inspirations and sources for joy in his childhood while going through various health treatments and more.
Credit: Lucasfilm (left), Pablo Hidalgo (middle), and Star Wars Theory (right)
Having the largest Star Wars fan platform on YouTube, Star Wars Theory is one of the most impressive and outstanding examples of a “true” fan, investing hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars in fan-made films that are jaw-dropping and bring joy to his three million-plus YouTube subscribers.
Nonetheless, upon sharing his emotional reaction to Luke Skywalker’s return on social media, Lucasfilm creative executive Pablo Hidalgo came out of the left field and publicly made fun of Theory, sharing a Tweet reading, “Emotions are not for sharing.”
Hidalgo went a step further, taking a screenshot of his “self-mockery” Tweet (as he later put it in an official apology) and making it his Twitter header.
Two years later, Pablo Hidalgo just sent another Tweet that disarms StarWars fans, using vulgar language to denounce rumors of Darth Maul appearing in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
There was no pressing need to have an official statement from Lucasfilm to address these Darth Maul claims, but Pablo Hidalgo shared a response to the matter on his private Twitter.
Hidalgo’s Tweet is a play on the saying, “A red sun rises. Blood has been spilled this night,” which Legolas (Orlando Bloom) states in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
Hidalgo’s Tweet isn’t the end of the world in the Star Wars universe, but it’s somewhat alarming to hear a high-ranking Lucasfilm executive like himself use such language responding to Star Wars news.
Nonetheless, Pablo Hidalgo confirms that Darth Maul was never in the picture for the limited series Obi-Wan Kenobi, assuring fans that Lucasfilm has thought through every possibility of who and what could appear in this new Star Wars story (many argue that having Darth Vader as the main villain makes more sense time-wise).
More about Obi-Wan Kenobi
The story begins ten years after the dramatic events of “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith,” where Obi-Wan Kenobi faced his most significant defeat—the downfall and corruption of his best friend and apprentice from the Jedi Order, Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the dark side as evil Sith Lord Darth Vader.
Within the Star Wars franchise, Lucasfilm is moving past Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) or the controversial Rian JohnsonStar Wars film The Last Jedi (2018) as we dive into the Old Republic or explore new realities of the Star Wars universe with each new TV show or the upcoming Star Wars game like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2 or Star Wars Eclipse.
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Credit: Lucasfilm
