Is Darth Maul in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series?
Certain hints in the trailer have us wondering if there’s another rematch on the cards.
The first-look trailer for Obi-Wan Kenobi has finally arrived, and it’s absolutely stuffed full of exciting details for fans. We’ve already clocked the return of the Grand Inquisitor, Joel Edgerton’s Owen Lars, The Fifth Brother and a baby Luke Skywalker, alongside new baddies like Moses Ingram’s Jedi-hunter Reva and some exciting new planets and cities for Ewan McGregor’s Jedi Master to explore.
But is it wrong that despite that, our favourite part of the whole trailer is the music? Eschewing the usual riff on the Force Theme, the Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer is instead scored with John Williams’ Duel of the Fates, aka one of the best Star Wars compositions ever, last heard in 1999's Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
It’s an appropriate music choice, given that the music accompanied a formative moment for Obi-Wan (the death of his mentor, Qui-Gon Jinn) but it also has us wondering: could the soundtrack be hinting at another character closely linked to that particular composition?
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In other words, does the presence of Duel of the Fates in Obi-Wan Kenobi tease the return of his old sparring partner Darth Maul? In The Phantom Menace, it’s Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon’s duel with the Sith Lord that gives the song its name, and he’s definitely as closely associated with the music as McGregor’s Jedi is – more so, in some ways.
Of course, Maul ended that battle chopped in half. But subsequent animated stories in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels and live-action movie Solo revealed the character’s survival, and in those mediums Maul and Kenobi clashed a few more times. In fact, we saw their final battle on-screen, on Tatooine, when the older Kenobi finally defeated Maul forever during an episode of Star Wars Rebels and laid him to rest.
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Confusingly, that doesn’t mean Maul couldn’t turn up in Obi-Wan Kenobi. This new series is set a few years earlier than Star Wars Rebels – specifically about 9-10 years before the time of the original trilogy (whereas Maul died around a year before the events of A New Hope). We know for a fact Maul was alive at this time, and active – the conclusion of Solo (the last time we saw him in live-action) is actually set around the same time as this new series, give or take a year.
So yes, it’s definitely possible Kenobi and Maul could cross swords (or lighstabers) again in this series. A slightly different question is whether it’s likely that they will. After all, we already know that Hayden Christensen is back as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader – would the series really try and shove another returning villain alongside him (as well as all the other new and old baddies shown in the trailer)? Wouldn’t that undercut the impact of their reunion if Obi-Wan keeps duelling Dark Side users all over the shop?
It's a convincing argument – but despite all the logic behind it, it’s still hard to shake the suspicion that Maul could play a role in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. If this is a limited event series all about Obi-Wan Kenobi, wouldn’t it make sense to focus on all the experiences his character has had, including the prequels (equally, who isn’t expecting a Liam Neeson cameo at some point)? And if they did want to soundtrack this trailer with an "Obi-Wan" composition that tied into the series, why not plump for the Anakin vs Obi-Wan track Battle of the Heroes from Revenge of the Sith? Anakin and Obi-Wan are both back, and due to battle onscreen once more… it’d be perfect. Instead, you just hear a few notes of it at the beginning of the trailer before moving on to the Maul-themed number.
No, Duel of the Fates has been chosen for a reason, and we wouldn’t put it past LucasFilm and Disney to add another familiar, tattooed face to their output. We could be wrong (we still remember WandaVision's Mephisto debacle), but watch this space. It's Maul to play for.
Obi-Wan Kenobi comes to Disney Plus on May 25th. Sign up to Disney+ for £7.99 a month or £79.90 a year.
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