This Fan-Favorite Villain Won't Be Returning In Obi-Wan Kenobi

"Star Wars" fans got some great news last week when the first official trailer for the upcoming series "Obi-Wan Kenobi" debuted online. Set to hit Disney+ on May 25 (the anniversary of the debut of "A New Hope"), the series will fill in some of the gaps between "Revenge of the Sith" and the beginning of the original "Star Wars" trilogy. Specifically, the show will follow an aging Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) on Tatooine as he watches over a young Luke Skywalker as the future Jedi Master lives out his unassuming childhood on a moisture farm. "Obi-Wan Kenobi" is directed by Deborah Chow, who also directed multiple fan-favorite episodes of "The Mandalorian" prior to her involvement in this upcoming "Star Wars" series.

The exact plot of "Obi-Wan Kenobi" remains shrouded in mystery at this time, but fans can expect some notable characters to show up, especially when it comes to beloved villains from the "Star Wars" universe. In fact, in the recent trailer included some major teases for the return of both Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) as well as The Grand Inquisitor (Rupert Friend). However, it now seems that more information has come out regarding a fan-favorite "Star Wars" villain who will not be returning for the show.

A new story from The Hollywood Reporter reports that Ray Park's Darth Maul will not make an appearance in "Obi-Wan Kenobi." This news comes alongside reports that there allegedly were plans to bring the character back for this story before the decision was made to "go bigger" and include villains like Darth Vader as to avoid "The Mandalorian" comparisons. According to some accounts laid out in the report, Park originally shot some footage as Maul for the series. However, Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau reportedly reworked the story in a way that removed Maul and incorporated Vader and The Grand Inquisitor. Despite these reports suggesting that there may have been plans for Maul to appear in "Obi-Wan Kenobi," they have not been substantiated. In fact, Lucasfilm has reportedly contradicted the account, noting that there was never a plan for Darth Maul to show up on the show.

Darth Maul is one of the most popular characters in Star Wars lore. Making his debut in "The Phantom Menace," the Sith warrior was introduced as the apprentice of Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid) who went toe-to-toe against Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson). That battle left Qui-Gon dead, with Maul seemingly killed by Obi-Wan in the finale. However, despite his bisection at the hands of Kenobi and his lightsaber, Maul later went on to appear in "The Clone Wars," as well as "Star Wars: Rebels," and again in live-action when "Solo: A Star Wars Story" debuted.