TheStar Wars Rebels season 3finale is fastly approaching, but before that happens we are going to be treated to an epic rematch nearly twenty years in the making. Darth Maul and Obi-Wan Kenobi are getting ready to square off Saturday on the episode “Twin Suns,” but this surely awesome rematch almost didn’t happen. Why you may ask? Well, becauseDarth Vaderalmost killed Darth Maul at the end of last season.
Star Wars Rebelscreator and showrunner (through the end of season 3)Dave Filonirecently spoke withi09about the upcoming episode ofStar Wars Rebelsthat has fans buzzing. Interestingly enough this episode almost wasn’t going to happen and this rematch would have never been possible if the original idea on the table, which was to have Darth Vader kill Darth Maul, had worked out. Fortunately, it didn’t, but here is whatDave Filonihad to say about it.
“Originally Maul perished in the season two finale where he returned. It was a one-off appearance… So originally in that episode you were gonna get Vader fighting Maul, Vader would have killed Maul, and then fought Ahsoka… It just became unwieldy… There were too many storylines, and there isn’t enough emotional material between Vader and Maul. It’s more of a fan fiction fun thought that they fought. The emotional drama was really between Vader and Ahsoka. So we decided to let Maul live.”
Those who have seen the Star Wars Rebels season 2 finale can attest to whatDave Filonisays here. There was a lot going on and throwing that fight into the mix really would have potentially muddied things up. The focus really needed to be on that long-awaited duel between Ahsoka and Vader, which was what we wound up getting. In truth, theStar Wars Rebelsseason 2 finale may be one of the best things to happen toStar Warssince Disney took over in 2012, so it is probably for the best that we didn’t see Vader cut Maul down for good. Even though that might have been pretty awesome in its own way, especially sinceJames Earl Joneswas providing the voice of Darth Vader in that episode and throughout season 2.
Outside of what it might have done to season 2,Star Wars Rebelsseason 3 would have been heavily influenced by that particular event as well. A lot of this current season has dealt with Darth Maul and his quest to locate Obi-Wan Kenobi. The episodesDarth Maulhas been featured in are not onlygood episodes, but they are important ones. Plus, more Darth Maul is always a good thing. To that point, getting to see he and Obi-Wan settle a nearly two-decade old score on Tatooine is going to be super satisfying. Or at least we can assume so.
Star Wars Rebelshas done an outstanding job with big moments like this and even though many of us would have liked to see this happen in a live-action movie, we can bet thatDave Filoniwill do it justice. But watching two famous Sith Lords duking it out would have been neat. “Twin Suns” is set to debut on Saturday, March 18, at 8:30 p.m. EST on Disney XD.
