Star Wars Is Making Its Best Character Death Even Better After 9 Years

Almost a decade since their on-screen demise, Star Wars is making its best death so much better with its brand new show. Considering its 49-year history, not to mention its subject matter, the franchise doesn't have any scarcity of character losses. Death is part of almost every story in the universe, although not all are created equally. Some are more well-thought-out than others.

Each era of Star Wars' storytelling thus far has had defining deaths. The original trilogy saw Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker passing away; the prequels dealt with the loss of Qui-Gon Jinn and Padmé Amidala, while the sequels killed off Han Solo, Leia, and Luke. Often overlooked, however, are deaths from smaller Star Wars projects, including arguably the best executed overall — Maul's demise in Star Wars Rebels.

Maul — Shadow Lord Explores What Happened To The Former Sith Lord After The Clone Wars

Now, Maul is coming back to the Star Wars franchise with his very own show. Created by Dave Filoni, Maul — Shadow Lord will follow the former Sith lord a year after the events of Clone Wars, as he tries to re-establish his presence in the galaxy by trying to control various crime syndicates. Amid this, he also grapples with the emotional toll of seeing the Empire win after being discarded by it while the Jedi Order collapsed.

Because of where Maul — Shadow Lord sits in the timeline, Star Wars Rebels has long confirmed that his post-Clone Wars endeavors ended in more tragedy for the character. That said, this will be the first time that Disney will actually properly tackle them on the screen. If it does the story effectively, the new show can flesh out one of the most interesting characters in all of Star Wars.

How Fleshing Out Maul's Post-Clone Wars Arc Makes His Death Even Better

Before the sequel trilogy kickstarted, Disney started building its Star Wars era with the animated series Star Wars Rebels. The show introduced a new band of freedom fighters who were mainly operating around Lothal. Despite not being previously acknowledged in the universe, characters introduced in the show, such as Ezra, Sabine, and Hera, have all become important parts of Star Wars in recent years.

In 2017, however, Star Wars Rebels tackled a more prominent rivalry in the galaxy far, far away. In "Twin Suns," Obi-Wan Kenobi and Maul reunited in Tatooine for a final battle. The duel was quick — with Filoni, who directed the episode, subverting expectations that it would be a repeat of their complicated fight in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. In the end, a few moves from Obi-Wan resulted in the death of Maul. Admittedly, some still question how this happened, but the instant win was due to various factors, including how Qui-Gon Jinn's apprentice had been honing his skills while his adversary had been battered by time and harrowing experiences.

9 years after the Star Wars Rebels episode, Maul — Shadow Lord will provide additional context as to how difficult it really was for Maul. It will offer a new understanding of what drove him to search for Obi-Wan after all those years, especially since it didn't seem like he was genuinely out to kill him. In his dying breath, instead, he asked about Luke being the "Chosen One" and declared that "he will avenge us," referring to the fight against Emperor Palpatine.

As confirmed by the Maul — Shadow Lord trailer, Darth Sidious is sending his minions to hunt down his former ally to be killed. With the Jedi Order gone, the Empire effectively becomes his biggest adversary. Learning about his adventures would make Maul's Star Wars already well-done death so much better.