Darth Maul Was Cut From Obi-Wan TV Series, Report Says; Lucasfilm Denies

The Obi-Wan Kenobi series, which premieres on Disney+ in May, brings back Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader, but it could have also featured another big-name Star Wars villain. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney considered putting Darth Maul in the series and that actor Ray Park was in "active prep" to return. Lucasfilm denied this.

In the end, however, it apparently was not meant to be. THR said Darth Maul is "not expected to appear" in the Obi-Wan show as part of a "creative overhaul" that led to other villains, including Darth Vader, being added to the show.

Why the change? According to the report, original writer Hossein Amini's scripts were shown to Star Wars bosses Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau, and they were apparently concerned that Obi-Wan was "covering similar ground to The Mandalorian," that being a "Long Wolf and Cub-like story of Kenobi coming out of hiding to protect a child-aged Luke Skywalker."

Darth Maul was originally envisioned as one of the baddies who would hunt down Obi-Wan and Skywalker, and at this time, Darth Vader was not in the scripts, according to the report. Amini was eventually replaced by Joby Harold as its writer. Disney selected a boy to play the young Skywalker, but no scenes with this person were filmed, apparently. But Lucasfilm is still going ahead with a young Luke Skywalker in the Obi-Wan show, with Grant Feely, who previously appeared on an episode of Creepshow, said to be playing the role.

As for Darth Maul's involvement, one source said Park was actually on set for pre-production and stunt training and that there is footage of Park put on film. However, another source said it might have only been test footage. A spokesperson for Lucasfilm poured cold water on this, saying the company never intended for Maul to return in the Obi-Wan series and that Park never came to set.