Prior to the release of The Phantom Menace, you couldn’t enter a convenience store without seeing Darth Maul‘s intimidating face staring back at you. From the moment he was unveiled in the trailer it was clear he was a hit, and he invariably went on to become one of the most-used characters in the vast array of merchandising.
So it was something of an anticlimax when he only appeared in a handful of scenes, his dialogue consisted of just 31 words, and he got chopped in half during the final showdown. Granted, one of those scenes was the iconic Duel of the Fates, but Maul has long been thought of as a wasted opportunity.
As a result, fans on r/StarWars are wondering why Darth Sidious spent so much time training Maul if he was to be a throwaway weapon. The OP points out that Sidious trained Maul from childhood, though he’s weaker than Dooku and Vader, and has no political or military skills.
Replies say that Maul was very capable, it’s just that we don’t see it in the movies. After all, in The Clone Wars and Rebels we discover he’s taken over Mandalore and assumed command of a vast criminal empire, not to mention his recovery from being bisected and tossed down a giant pit.
Others point out that Sidious was indeed disappointed when Maul died. In Marvel’s Darth Vader comic, we see the Emperor reflecting on Maul to the one-time Anakin Skywalker, saying that he considered his death both a true loss and big setback for his plans.
After all, Maul is an extremely capable agent and assassin for the Emperor. Once he’s dead, we see Sidious having to rely on various bounty hunters and assassins to do his dirty work, with mixed results. If Maul had been around those plans would likely have been executed far more smoothly.
After Solo: A Star Wars Story, it appeared we’d see Darth Maul in live-action again, though the poor box office seems to have curtailed those plans. Here’s hoping he pops up again in something, as more than 20 years on he remains a fascinating Star Wars villain.