As you may recall, Obi-Wan Kenobi, the forthcoming Disney+ show about the iconic Star Wars Jedi, ran into some difficulties on the way to the small screen. There were issues with the original scripts, which had to be largely scrapped. Star Ewan McGregor claimed those claims were “bulls*it, but it appears there was at least some truth to them. Indeed, it’s only now been made public that amidst the turmoil, the show wound up ditching another beloved character’s return.
As per The Hollywood Reporter, the show originally brought back Darth Maul, the horned, double lightsaber-wielding baddie from the first Star Wars prequel The Phantom Menace. How was Maul supposed to return given that a young Obi-Wan literally sliced him in half? Was he in flashbacks? We may never know. But we do know that Maul was in the scripts long enough that actor Ray Park was at one point in active prep to return to the role.
This all happened about two years ago, when pre-production on the show was put on pause and the scripts were dramatically reworked. The reason, according to THR, was not that they were bad per se, but that series director Deborah Chow noticed they were a little too similar to The Mandalorian, which had recently wrapped its first season:
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.
But don’t fret that you won’t be seeing Darth Maul reunite with Obi-Wan for another duel. After all, you’re getting Darth Vader instead. Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres on Disney+ on May 25.
(Via THR)