
June 24, 2025
Star Wars | Character Analysis | Darth Maul, Too Angry to Die
Darth Maul was introduced (and presumably killed off) in The Phantom Menace as a dark lord of the Sith. But what happened after the Battle of Naboo? Find out here!


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“Tell me, child, do you know who I am? … What do they say of me? That I was once a great Sith Lord, apprenticed to the most powerful being in the galaxy?... Or do they just remember how I died?”
- Maul
When Star Wars returned to theaters in 1999, fans were promised a new understanding of how the Empire came to be. We would see the rise of Palpatine and the fall of the Jedi. New heroes, new planets, new ships and droids. And new villains.
Enter Darth Maul, the red and black horned monstrosity that fans thought would be the biggest bad guy there ever was. The moment in the trailer when he lit his lightsaber and then lit a second blade from the same hilt sealed it for most of us: This guy was the real deal. Imagine the disappointment when, right at the end of the movie, he’s cut in half, falling down a tunnel into darkness and obscurity.
Thankfully, that’s not the end of Maul’s story. The man is crafted by his hatred, given power by it. He’s literally too angry to die. He survived his fall, but what next?
Who is Darth Maul?

Attribute |
Details |
Name |
Maul |
Born |
54 BBY |
Died |
2 BBY |
Homeworld |
Dathomir |
Species |
Dathomirian Zabrak |
Allegiance |
Sith (Former), Crimson Dawn |
Debut |
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace |
Darth Maul is a Dathomirian Zabrak born in 54 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin). He was stolen from his mom, the Nightsister Mother Talzin, by Darth Sidious in order to hone Maul’s anger. Seriously, this guy is just so angry. He became Sidious’ Sith apprentice. In 32 BBY, he dueled Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, resulting in the death of Jinn and Maul falling to his (presumed) death.
After creating some spider legs and escaping from the pit, he found his brother, Savage Opress, and began to work with Death Watch. This was a Mandalorian faction that wanted to return to their older, warlike ways. Maul and his newly formed Shadow Collective overthrew Duchess Satine of Mandalore, allowing Maul to be the leader of the Mandalorians and wielder of the Darksaber. This didn’t last long.
Maul continued to try and destroy Darth Sidious for betraying him for several years. After the fall of the Republic, Maul took up leadership of Crimson Dawn and the other of the Five Crime Syndicates. He used this power to find Sith artifacts. He continued to fail at killing Sidious. Eventually, he discovers Obi-Wan on Tatooine and fights him. Kenobi stabs Maul, leading to his death in 2 BBY.
Darth Maul | History
Dathomir

Maul was born on Dathomir in 54 BBY. His mother was Mother Talzin, a Nightsister witch leader who had ties with Darth Sidious. He was raised in the Nightbrother Village on Dathomir with his two brothers, Savage Opress and Feral. Talzin was often away from them, leaving Maul to take care of his brothers, something he resented.
Maul is best known for being an incredibly angry individual and that’s was eventually what drew Sidious to him. He was forced to go through unrelenting physical abuse at the hands of the Nightbrothers and Nightsisters. This hatred of his family drew him to the Dark Side and right into Sidious’ waiting hands.
Sith Apprentice

Around 40 BBY, Maul was taken off of Dathomir to be trained by Sidious. As part of his training, Sidious took Maul to Malachor, an Outer Rim world where a Sith Temple once stood. While there, Maul was forced to breathe in the ashes of dead Sith and witness the destruction of the temple, feeling every death that occurred. This event, coupled with the feeling that the Jedi didn’t come to save him from Talzin, solidified his hatred for the Jedi.
Maul had an incredible bloodlust for Jedi. In order to quench that thirst, Sidious sent Maul out on various underworld activities including kidnapping senators, murdering gang leaders, and recruiting pirates to work with the Sith.
Of course, all of this led to the events of The Phantom Menace. Sidious dispatched Maul to prevent the Trade Federation’s blockade from being destroyed by the Jedi. Meanwhile, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi take Queen Amidala away and discover Anakin Skywalker on Tatooine. Maul is then dispatched to kill Amidala on Tatooine, but is stopped by the Jedi.
Once everyone is back safe on Naboo, the Trade Federation invades. Maul tries to kill Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. He succeeds in killing Qui-Gon, but is sliced in half by Obi-Wan. Maul is presumed dead after falling, bisected, into a giant hole.
Presumed Death

After falling into the hole, Maul just refuses to die. The man is literally too angry to let that happen. He uses his considerable Force powers to create some spider legs and began his exile in the Outer Rim. Meanwhile, Mother Talzin sent his brother, Savage Opress, to find Maul and bring him back to Dathomir.
Maul had lost his mind during his exile. In order to return his sanity, Savage brought him back to Dathomir where Talzin used Nightsister magick to give him back his mind. While there, he received new cybernetic legs that were only two appendages instead of eight. Maul and Savage begin to search the galaxy for Obi-Wan Kenobi to get revenge.
Death Watch and Shadow Collective

After a brief duel with Obi-Wan on Florrum, Maul and Savage were defeated and presumed dead. They were discovered by a group called Death Watch, led by Pre Vizsla. Death Watch is a splinter group of Mandalorians that believe they are the true descendants of Mandalore and should be ruling. As the Jedi were wanting Mandalore to stay neutral in The Clone Wars and abandon their warrior ways, they both agreed that they had a common enemy. Along with that, Obi-Wan and the current ruler, Duchess Satine Kryze, were something of an item. This could be a way for both Maul and Vizsla to get their revenge on the Jedi.
Maul began visiting different crime families including Black Sun, the Hutts, and the Morubas to try and get them to assist Death Watch in taking back Mandalore. After a show of force to each of these groups, Maul’s Shadow Collective was born.
Maul, Pre Vizsla, and the rest of the Shadow Collective seized control of Mandalore, overthrowing Satine. Maul beheaded Vizsla, taking control of the Darksaber (a sword that signifies the true Mandalorian leader) and becoming the sole ruler of Mandalore. The Jedi appeared to take the planet back, leading to Maul killing Satine in front of Obi-Wan.

However, the Jedi weren’t the only ones brought to Mandalore. After sensing Maul was becoming a great threat to his power, Sidious appeared to take him down. Sidious dueled Maul and Savage, ultimately leading to Savage’s death and Maul’s capture. That didn’t last long as Death Watch followed Sidious’s ship and broke Maul out of his prison.
From there, Maul eventually returned to Dathomir to consult with Mother Talzin. However, this is exactly what Sidious wanted. Sidious planned to have Talzin killed and defeat Maul’s Shadow Collective while they were at it. General Grievous killed Talzin. Maul fled, utterly defeated, and no longer a threat to Sidious’ control.
Crime Lord

Although Maul was defeated, he was still too angry to just give up. The Shadow Collective was still kicking and a new alliance with Dryden Vos of Crimson Dawn breathed new life into his own organization. He shifted his focus to Anakin Skywalker, the person that Sidious’ plan hinged upon.
Back on Mandalore, Maul attempted to seize control. He was met by Ahsoka Tano, Anakin’s former padawan. Although upset that he couldn’t fight his real prey, he told Ahsoka that Sidious would soon rule the galaxy and that there was nothing the Jedi could do about it. During the battle, he left, telling his Shadow Collective leaders to go to ground and gain as much power that they can. He is eventually captured and imprisoned. Well, until he escaped again and began his next crime spree.
Maul had control over the five major crime syndicates in the galaxy. He returned to Dathomir and put Dryden Vos in control of Crimson Dawn as a figurehead, while he operated from the sidelines. He used this power to find Sith artifacts and ways to bring down Sidious and kill Obi-Wan. During his adventures, he became trapped on Malachor where he was found by Ezra Bridger who was also looking for a Sith holocron.
Phoenix

Maul began to manipulate Ezra with the Dark Side, eventually earning enough trust to join the Phoenix Squad in defeating a few Inquisitors (Jedi hunters). As they continue on in their search for the holocron, Maul betrays Ezra by blinding Kanan Jarrus. Maul is eventually overpowered by Jarrus and thrown from the temple. He, again, survives and escapes.
Maul continues to follow the Phoenix Squad. He learns that Obi-Wan is still alive on Tatooine. Still believing Ezra is his apprentice, Maul tells him that he’s going to go kill Obi-Wan. Unfortunately for Maul, Obi-Wan duels him, leading to Maul’s death. With his dying breath, he asks if the boy Obi-Wan is protecting is the Chosen One, ensuring that his revenge on Sidious will be complete.
Darth Maul | Physical Appearance

Maul is a Zabrak from Dathomir. This Zabrak species is known for their distinctive head spikes. Maul is tall, bright red, and has tattoos all over his body. These were given to him by Mother Talzin before his first birthday. The tattoos are Nightbrother symbols and are not distinctive to Zabraks. He wears long robes as a Sith apprentice, but wears more comfortable tunics as time goes on.
Initially, he had two legs and was roughly 5’9”. However, after being cut in half and thrown into a garbage compactor by Obi-Wan, he used the trash around him to create a set of spider legs. The madness of the mind was reflected in his body. Once back on Dathomir with his mind restored, Mother Talzin crafted a set of cybernetic legs making him 6’4” and a much more commanding presence. A short king rose that day.
Darth Maul | Personality Traits

Maul is a very angry man. He was raised in a very abusive society while also being groomed to be a Sith Lord by the galaxy’s most evil man. He embodies the mantra that the Jedi use to protect themselves from the Dark Side: Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering. Maul was broken in many different ways throughout his life, from being literally cut in half to losing his mind in isolation. He’s hellbent on revenge for the cards he has been dealt.
Maul prefers to work alone or with only one or two trusted people. He has seen so many people that he put his trust in either die or betray him that he keeps his circle small. Of course, his tenacity and ruthlessness make it hard for him to form and keep relationships. His ability to manipulate people helped him build his criminal empire.
Darth Maul | Relationships
With his family

Maul’s family on Dathomir is nothing short of dysfunctional. Mother Talzin loves him, however, she sees him as the reason the Nightsisters were sidelined by Sidious. Of course, that doesn’t stop her from sacrificing herself to keep him alive.
His relationship with his brother Savage Opress is his most dynamic. Once Savage finds him and brings him back to Dathomir, they are essentially attached at the hip. Savage becomes Maul’s apprentice, going so far as to say that they are the true Sith and Sidious and Dooku are imposters. Their bond goes beyond brotherhood. Savage’s death may be the only time Maul actually feels sorrow in the entire saga.
With Darth Sidious

Much like Sidious’ relationships with his other apprentices, it’s a bit strained with Maul. The Sith Rule of Two explains that there must only be two Sith, Master and Apprentice. Eventually, the apprentice will overtake the master. This type of relationship doesn’t really bode well for the people involved.
Initially, he viewed Sidious as a savior, taking him away from Dathomir and the abuse (that Sidious manufactured) he suffered at the hands of his family. He was Sidious’ enforcer, a tiger kept on a short leash but would strike when commanded. After his defeat at Naboo, his view on Sidious began to change, especially after finding out he took Darth Tyranus as his new apprentice. His malice toward Sidious only grew throughout the years.
Maul’s goal during his time as head of Crimson Dawn was to take down Sidious using the Fermata Cage. This would leave Sidious in a trapped, suspended state. This ended up not working. Even up to his death on Tatooine, he wished for Sidious’ downfall.
With Obi-Wan Kenobi

Obi-Wan Kenobi is Maul’s rival in every sense of the word. One of the main reasons Maul survived after Naboo was his extreme anger toward Obi-Wan. For a long time, Maul was almost solely focused on killing Obi-Wan and the Jedi as a whole. Although he never killed him, he succeeded in hurting him where it hurts the most, his heart. Maul killed the only woman Kenobi ever loved: Duchess Satine.
After Order 66, Maul assumed Kenobi died. After finding out he was alive on Tatooine, that became his obsession. Maul’s rage was his downfall. Kenobi killed him on the sands of Tatooine. Maul seemed at peace with this, dying at the hands of his greatest enemy.
With the Phoenix Group

Maul played a significant role in the later seasons of Rebels so his path intertwined with the Phoenix Group many times. He manipulated Ezra Bridger toward the Dark Side, trying to get him to find Sith holocrons and, later, get to Kenobi. He was the one who blinded Kanan Jarrus. He had the Darksaber, the thing Sabine wanted to return to Mandalore. Not to mention all of the conflict with Ahsoka.
His relationship with Ezra is interesting. Maul was looking for a new apprentice after the death of his brother and he saw that Ezra had potential. Ezra was not trained in the Jedi temple so was not as familiar with the power of the Dark Side. After combining the Sith and Jedi holocrons, they had a bond that allowed them to see snippets of each other’s vision. Ultimately, they both had the same goal of destroying the Sith and defeating Sidious. However, the power of friendship won out and Ezra continued to follow Kanan.
Darth Maul | Abilities

Ability |
Details |
Acrobatics |
Very agile and strong |
Intelligence |
Smart, can operate a giant crime syndicate |
Force Push |
Uses the Force to push enemies |
Force Wave |
A powerful, wide blast of Force power |
Force Telekinesis |
Lift and manipulate objects with the Force |
Saber Throw |
Throws lightsaber in an arc using the Force |
Telepathy |
Communicate and peer into minds |
Acrobatics
Maul was incredibly agile and strong. Sidious trained him to be the most physically powerful Sith in the entire history of the Order. And that is exactly what he became. Maul’s acrobatics did become a bit of a problem when he flipped over Kenobi, allowing him to slice Maul in half on Naboo.
Intelligence
Although driven by anger, Maul’s intelligence is abundant. His ability to plan ahead is rivaled only by Sidious. He was smart enough to quietly take control of Crimson Dawn and, eventually, the rest of the major syndicates. His high intelligence allowed him to easily manipulate those around him including Ezra Bridger.
Force Powers

As a Sith, Maul has the ability to manipulate the Force using the power of the Dark Side. This isn’t an exhaustive list of his abilities, but some of the major ones seen throughout the series.
- Force Push: A Force Push is a singular blast of Force energy used to knock back an opponent.
- Force Wave: A Force Wave is a much wider version of a Force Push, aiming for a big area to knock back many opponents. This requires much more Force energy that the Push.
- Force Telekinesis: This is just a blanket term for manipulating the Force. It can be used to lift objects, move things around, or assist in battles.
- Saber Throw: This is an advanced lightsaber technique where the user throws their lightsaber toward an enemy and arcs it back to their hand using the Force. It is hard to master, especially when there are two blades like in Maul’s case.
- Telepathy: This technique is common in Force users but to a different extent. Usually, users can sense those around them and sense their intentions. This does not really give them anything other than a feeling. Maul, however, can straight up read minds in some cases and talk to others telepathically. This has been seen to some extent in other Star Wars media, but only in times of great peril. Maul can seemingly do this whenever he wants.
Darth Maul | Fan Reception

Maul is one of the best things to come out of the Prequel Trilogy, hands down. Many fans were shocked and angered that he was seemingly killed at the end of The Phantom Menace. His popularity was so great that he has had two separate big comeback reveals: one in The Clone Wars and the other in Solo. Both of these revelations created tons of buzz among fans, many wishing for more content set in the sphere around Solo.
It would be hard to find a fan who was not acquainted with Maul. He was a huge part of the marketing for The Phantom Menace. You couldn’t look in any store in 1999 without seeing Maul’s red and black face staring back at you. Of course, this led to his giant popularity among fans and the subsequent anger at his quick dispatchment at the end of the movie.
Maul continues to be a fan favorite to this day. After the reveal in Solo, there was a series of comics set around Qi’ra and Maul trying to take down Sidious. It was also revealed at Star Wars Celebration 2025 that there would be a new animated series focused on Maul called Maul - Shadow Lord set to release in 2026. Maul-heads will have no shortage of content coming down the pike!
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Frequently Asked Questions
What was Darth Maul’s first appearance?
+Darth Maul first appeared in Episode I: The Phantom Menace as one of the primary antagonists.
How did Darth Maul survive being cut in half?
+Darth Maul survived by sheer force of will. With a little help from the Force and Nightsister Magicks, of course. He fell into a trash compactor and built a new set of spider legs.
Why is Darth Maul at the end of Solo?
+Darth Maul appears at the end of Solo because he is the secret leader of Crimson Dawn, a crime syndicate. He used his connections in the criminal underworld to secretly obtain this position.
Who kills Darth Maul?
+Darth Maul is killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars Rebels. He dies on Tatooine in Obi-Wan’s arms.
Why does Darth Maul look like that?
+Darth Maul is a Zabrak from Dathomir. Zabraks have horns on their heads, but the tattoos are due to his Nightbrother lineage.
What is the Darksaber?
+The Darksaber is a blade that is passed down from one leader of Mandalore to the next. It is said that only the true ruler of Mandalore is allowed to wield it.
What is the new series starring Darth Maul?
+Darth Maul will return in Maul - Shadow Lord in 2026. It’s an animated series set before the events of Rebels.
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