Star Wars Creator George Lucas Was Opposed To Bringing Maul Again To Life — Till He Wasn’t [Exclusive]

I consider “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” is without doubt one of the finest issues to occur to “Star Wars.” Premiering in 2008, the seven-season-long sequence revitalized the franchise following the combined reception to the prequel trilogy. In actual fact, it made the prequels higher by deepening the characters, making Anakin Skywalker a really tragic determine, turning the clone troopers into precise individuals, and increasing the lore and mythology of “Star Wars” in thrilling methods.

Whereas the present was stuffed with surprises — together with the truth that it gave Anakin a Padawan — nothing compares to the time “The Clone Wars” introduced again the menacing Darth Maul and turned him into an virtually tragic determine.

An enormous improvement like that will need to have come after numerous planning, proper? Effectively, not precisely. Throughout a current interview with /Movie, Henry Gilroy, who helped develop “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” talked about how George Lucas had spent years saying he’d by no means carry Maul again. And to make sure nobody else may do it too, Lucas determined to have him sliced in half when he was killed.

After which, sooner or later, Lucas simply modified his thoughts. (Not that he is by no means carried out that earlier than — Lucas was against Wookiee Jedi, however reversed his choice years later. He pulled an identical heel flip with his involvement in “The Clone Wars.”) The story goes, Lucas went as much as supervising director Dave Filoni and informed him to determine learn how to carry again Maul. Whereas Filoni and his workforce labored on how Maul would come again into the fold and turn out to be a menace to the Jedi once more, Gilroy was charged with explaining how Maul survived being minimize in half and thrown down a shaft.