My Thoughts on Darth Maul Apprentice
The Darth Maul Apprentice fan-film is one of the best I’ve ever seen. Not only does it highlight one of my favorite characters, but it’s a blast to watch. The whole thing is one long lightsaber fight with a few cocky Jedi’s who really don’t know when to retreat. I highly recommend you take a moment and watch it before you continue reading, if you haven’t seen it already, because this film got me thinking about how Darth Maul could have made the Star Wars Prequels even more enjoyable.
I Think They Killed Him Off Too Early
Now don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the Duel of Fates at the end of Episode 1, but I didn’t realize what a lost opportunity it was until seeing this fan-film. Throughout Episode 1, Darth Maul kept appearing and they really built up his mystery and sense of dread. You know he’s a bad dude, but have no idea what his potential for evil is or what is his end goal. After all that, they just up and off him like it was no big deal. Lame. But imagine if they had kept him.
Darth Sidious Remains in the Dark
The very first thing that could have happened was that they could have kept the big baddie a.k.a Darth Sidious even more in the background. Because they killed Darth Maul, we automatically know that he was an apprentice and that there was someone else really calling the shots. Keep him around and the Jedi Council will consider him Enemy #1 until Darth Sidious blindsides them in Episode 3.
Depth of Character
The next thing that could have been developed, which was superbly shown in Darth Maul Apprentice, was his lingering sense of humanity and mercy. Unlike Sidious or Dooku who are pretty generic villains when you take a hard look at them, Maul could have had some depth. Unfortunately, you need a couple of movies to build up that character and you can’t do it by killing them off!
A Formidable Foe
Finally, Maul could have been a villain every Jedi was scared of going toe to toe with. Unlike Count Dooku and General Grevious, who were a tough fight but ultimately ran away, Darth Maul was a beast when it came to a fight. I’m convinced that Maul would have gained a reputation with all Jedi’s that when he shows up, you run. For me, this would have made me dread Maul’s appearance and the fear that he’s going to take out the heroes (mostly Obi-Wan) before they could save the day.
In Conclusion
I feel that Darth Maul should have been the main villain through the Prequels. He could have taken the Prequels to a whole new level because they were obviously lacking a true villain. Instead we were left with the emotional turmoil of Anakin, which is way less entertaining.