Star Wars just revealed an incredible Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace Easter egg that makes Darth Maul’sStar Wars Rebels death even more profound. Darth Maul has one of the best arcs in Star Wars movies and TV shows. After being introduced as a brand-new Sith Lord and seemingly dying in The Phantom Menace, Maul returned in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and then had subsequent appearances in Rebels and Solo: A Star Wars Story. In Rebels, Maul (actually) died, and new information from Star Wars reveals how meaningful his death really was.
According to starwars.com, the duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul in Rebels season 3 that finally brought about Maul’s demise had a direct parallel to The Phantom Menace. Per Star Wars:
“‘The move that Maul tries after the initial exchange, he actually attempts the move that killed Qui-Gon Jinn. He tries to bash [Obi-Wan] with the hilt,’ revealed producer Henry Gilroy. But Kenobi had learned a lot since that fateful day, and it became the last move Maul would make.”
This connection between Darth Maul’s death blow to Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace and Obi-Wan’s ability to overpower Maul in Rebels is the perfect full-circle moment for both Maul and Obi-Wan.
What Darth Maul’s Final Move Means For Star Wars
This connection between Rebels and The Phantom Menace reveals how much Obi-Wan had grown in that time—and how much Darth Maul hadn’t. The death of his former Jedi Master changed everything for Obi-Wan Kenobi. He very quickly went from a Padawan himself to the Jedi Master of Anakin Skywalker. Those events alone completely reshaped his life, but he also underwent considerable changes from there, among them grief and then perseverance as one of the survivors of Order 66.
The same episode of Rebels in which Maul dies, “Twin Suns,” also highlights that Obi-Wan had already adapted his fighting style to be closer to that of the original trilogy. Whereas Obi-Wan had developed and changed, Darth Maul remained rooted to the past, as made evident by his attempt to use the very same move he had in The Phantom Menace. This is also somewhat unsurprising given how obsessed Maul was with Obi-Wan throughout The Clone Wars and Rebels. He never learned to let go of the past, and, in the end, it cost him his life.
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This parallel between The Phantom Menace and Rebels really is a brilliant Star Wars moment, and it’s perhaps one of the better examples of the franchise’s ‘rhymes.’ Not every pattern in Star Wars has to be obvious or explicit. This is a prime example of beautiful symmetry within the Star Wars timeline that is profoundly meaningful but also subtle.
This is also the perfect ending to the ongoing battle between Darth Maul and Obi-Wan. In The Phantom Menace, Maul killed Qui-Gon, and then he caused Obi-Wan even more suffering by killing Satine Kryze in The Clone Wars. Despite how hard Maul worked to destroy Obi-Wan and those he cared about, Obi-Wan triumphed. In the end, Darth Maul was limited by his own sense of vengeance and connection to the past, and this Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace connection solidified that.
Source: starwars.com
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The beginning of the Skywalker Saga, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace sees young Anakin Skywalker put on his path to discovering his ability to influence the Force. While attempting to thwart the nefarious Trade Federation in their plans for the planet of Naboo, two Jedi discover an exceptionally-gifted slave with the ability to wield the Force. Little do they know, rescuing him is just the beginning of a saga that will span generations of the Skywalker family.
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Set between Episodes III and IV of the Star Wars film franchise, Star Wars Rebels is a canon animated series that follows a group of ragtag heroes who band together to face the Empire. In an age where the Galactic Empire is hunting down the last of the Jedi, a teenage outcast named Ezra Bridger is discovered to be force sensitive by a surviving Jedi known as Kanan Jarrus. Agreeing to join them and accept Jedi training, Ezra becomes a part of a small but growing crew of rebels determined to destroy the empire covertly.
