Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni reportedly played a role in removing a Darth Maul appearance in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series.
A standalone story centering on Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi has been on a long road to fruition. The Star Wars project was originally set as a film but later evolved into a series for Disney Plus. Obi-Wan Kenobi as we know it today will see the reclusive Jedi Master face off against Inquisitors and Darth Vader himself. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Darth Maul was originally going to appear in the series instead of Vader.
The script changes came when Obi-Wan Kenobi production paused in 2020, and Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy recently revealed this was because they decided to go in a more hopeful direction. The Hollywood Reporter has elaborated on the rewrites, sharing that Darth Maul would initially appear in the series, with Ray Park reprising the role. Park last played Darth Maul in a surprise appearance at the end of Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Darth Maul notably died at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars Rebels after his original fall in The Phantom Menace, so the Disney Plus almost recontextualized the saga with another encounter between the two once again. Dave Filoni was reportedly responsible for the addition of Darth Vader and the Grand Inquisitor.
Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni were also reportedly concerned the story was too similar to The Mandalorian‘s, with Darth Maul and others hunting down Kenobi and a young Luke Skywalker. This isn’t the first time the Sith Lord has been cut from a Star Wars project since George Lucas’ plans for the sequel trilogy were also said to involve Darth Maul.
Directed by Deborah Chow from Joby Harold’s scripts, the series stars Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Moses Ingram, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell, and Benny Safdie. The series will also see the return of legendary Star Wars composer John Williams, who scored a theme.
Obi-Wan Kenobi will hit Disney Plus on May 25, 2022. Stay tuned for all the latest news surrounding the upcoming series, and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
