As we inch closer and closer to the release of Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi, more details surrounding the development of the show were bound to come out, particularly regarding the characters involved. Among all the characters who will be making a return in the upcoming Star Wars series, Darth Maul from The Phantom Menace will not be one of them.
Darth Maul, the main antagonist from the Star Wars franchise's first prequel, was originally supposed to come back for the series. Not only that, but his role would be played by his original actor, Ray Park, who had begun training in preparation for the series. That was until extensive re-writes effectively wrote Darth Maul out of the show for the time being.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Darth Maul was originally written in to be part of the force that was on the lookout to find Kenobi after he went into hiding. That was until the show was put on pause and was given a creative overhaul. In said overhaul, they later decided to replace Darth Maul with the more iconic Darth Vader. Details are a little murky surrounding how far along Darth Maul was originally involved in the show's development, but it was clear Park had been given the green light to start preparing for the role, which, of course, came to an end.
This doesn't necessarily close the book on a potential Darth Maul return to the Star Wars franchise. Darth Maul has made several appearances in other Star Wars media, and he's regarded as a fan favorite from the prequels given both his mysterious nature and the awesome stunt work from Park. Since all signs point to Park getting ready to play him again, it seems ridiculous that the showrunners would abruptly end all of that. Darth Maul was already featured in a brief cameo in Solo: A Star Wars Story for fanservice, so there's no reason not to think they may try that again at a larger scale.
If they were to expand more on Darth Maul's character, it may be in their best interest to not give away too much about his backstory. He resonated with fans as well as he did (and currently does) because of his skills as a warrior and his mystery. We've seen Hollywood previously give backstories to popular action characters that largely felt unnecessary after watching - X-Men Origins: Wolverine comes to mind - so while the fans would love to see Darth Maul back, they probably don't want to see too much.
Obi-Wan Kenobi will be streaming on Disney Plus on May 25th, 2022.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter