7) Darth Maul
The best villain of the prequel trilogy can only be Darth Maul. The volcanic-headed Sith apprentice, with his uber-cool double-edged lightsaber, was one of the few saving graces of The Phantom Menace.
Much like the original trilogy’s Boba Fett (more on him in a moment), Darth Maul’s awesome appearance and general badassery have elevated him beyond his relatively small role in the saga. His final fight with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan – set to John William’s awe-inspiring “Duel of the Fates” – is still one of the most exciting moments in the whole franchise.
Sadly, he had to split (ha!) at the end of the movie, bringing his big-screen career to an end. Thankfully, he’s been a regular fixture in the books, comics and The Clone Wars and Rebels animated series instead.
Also, for those who don’t know, the original concept art for the character had feathers on his head. When it came to creating him for real though, the designers mistook the feathers for horns and the rest is history. Bullet. Dodged.