Ray Park Returning To Star Wars As Darth Maul?
Darth Maul might be heading back into the Star Wars universe with actor Ray Park teasing the Sith character's possible return
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Ray Park isn’t necessarily a face you might recognize if you passed him on the street, but you definitely know his characters. The dude’s been cast in some memorable, and sometimes iconic, roles in the past based on his considerable athletic talents (and acting chops as well). And now the martial artist looks like he’s going to reprise probably his most recognizable role of this career. If his Instagram is to be believed, dude is about to get back into the Darth Maul get up and start Sith-ing it again.
The post from his iamraypark account leaves little in doubt about what’s happening here. The crown of horns along with the words “SITH LIFE” mean Darth Maul could be reentering the Star Wars universe and Ray Park would be reprising the role. It would be such a cool character to get back into the mix considering the first time around he was somewhat underutilized in the live action movies.
Ray Park as Darth Maul appeared to have met his end at the end of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace when he was struck down (cut in half) by Obi-Wan Kenobi and falls down a massive shaft. That would have felt like a definitive end for the character. But it was revealed in Solo: A Star Wars Story that he had actually survived this by using the Dark Side of the Force and was now a crime syndicate leader. Here’s that scene:
In Star Wars, no character’s fate is ever completely sealed so it doesn’t take a massive leap of faith to have Darth Maul still around. In the animated versions of the show, the character plays a much bigger role with an more in-depth backstory.
There are a number of new Star Wars projects and television shows coming down the pike on Disney+ though we’d have to speculate on just how Ray Park and Darth Maul would factor into any of them. The timelines don’t line up for The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, Rangers of the New Republic, or even The Book of Boba Fett. All of those take place considerably after Darth Maul’s timeline.
One show that could work would be Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi which is set to pick up the titular character’s timeline following the events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Knowing that Darth Maul survived and is living in the time leading up to Solo, this would make a lot of sense. And we know from other productions in the Star Wars animated universe, these two have more interactions along the way.
The roles for Ray Park after Darth Maul have been fewer and farther between these days with his last work in the Star Wars universe coming when he offered a motion-capture version of Maul for the animated series The Clone Wars. Here’s to hoping he makes a grand appearance back in this franchise and we get an even more in-depth look at a character who would play awesomely as the central antagonist for television series.
