Disney Star Wars Has Succeeded With Maul Where It Failed With Darth Vader

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Darth Vader is known as the most powerful Sith in Star Wars, but Disney has made Maul a more interesting character. This is surprising considering Maul seemingly died in The Phantom Menace in 1999. Even George Lucas felt this was a mistake, which led to bringing Maul back to life in The Clone Wars. During that war, Maul became a powerful independent player, even challenging Palpatine, all while obsessively seeking revenge on Obi-Wan Kenobi.

When Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, they ended the Clone Wars animated series and replaced it with Star Wars Rebels. While we’ve enjoyed iconic Darth Vader scenes in recent years, like the one in Rogue One, Darth Maul has surprisingly become the defining Sith character of the Disney era. Over the last thirteen years, Maul has appeared in many exciting stories and become a more developed and interesting character than even Darth Vader. This raises the question: why has Maul taken center stage as the key Sith villain under Disney, instead of Darth Vader?

Darth Vader is Simply Too Big

The main issue with Darth Vader is that he’s such a fully realized and powerful character – almost too much so. He’s become one of cinema’s most famous villains because George Lucas established him so clearly from the start. We first see Vader as an imposing figure in A New Hope, but he becomes much more complex and personal in The Empire Strikes Back, leading to his memorable redemption in Return of the Jedi. His story is complete, his character development is perfect, and it’s hard to imagine how it could be done better.

Lucasfilm’s Dave Filoni recently explained his approach to Darth Vader in an interview with Inverse. He emphasized that Vader is a fundamentally powerful character created by George Lucas and the core of the entire saga, so it’s crucial to preserve that. Surprisingly, Filoni believes the best way to portray Vader is to avoid developing his character further. He wants to maintain the same imposing feeling audiences had in Rogue One, where Vader silently and ruthlessly carries out his mission. According to Filoni, Vader’s emotions – his remorse, anger, and hatred – are expressed solely through his actions, specifically in every swing of his lightsaber.

Disney has made genuine efforts to create compelling Star Wars content, with some notable successes. The hallway scene in Rogue One is a particularly striking example of Darth Vader’s intimidating presence, and the 2015 comic event Vader Down remains a high point. However, not everything has worked – Obi-Wan Kenobi didn’t quite hit the mark, and surprisingly, Disney’s critically acclaimed series Andor intentionally avoided featuring Darth Vader. According to Andor’s creator, Tony Gilroy, writing for Darth Vader presents creative limitations, as the character doesn’t offer much dialogue or complexity.

Fans were understandably upset by those comments. However, the speaker’s main idea – though not clearly stated – was that Darth Vader’s story is already complete. Recent comics actually support this, showing that stories set before Return of the Jedi often struggled with either foreshadowing his redemption too heavily or trying to undo that foreshadowing to keep it a surprise. Darth Vader will remain a key part of Star Wars, but his character has largely been fully developed.

Darth Maul Has Become Disney’s Biggest Success

I always felt like Darth Maul was a bit of a side story, which is actually great news for where Disney can take him. They really surprised me by bringing him into Star Wars Rebels, and that episode with Obi-Wan was incredible! Okay, his little appearance in Solo felt a little off – I think they were trying to appeal to everyone and a lot of people didn’t even realize he was back! But it looks like Lucasfilm realized that too, and they’re now using that moment to set up his own show, which I’m really excited about.

Darth Maul was central to the successful revival of Clone Wars, where fans finally saw his intense duel with Ahsoka Tano and learned how he escaped Order 66. The continuing series, Maul – Shadow Lord, has become a fan favorite among Star Wars shows, currently boasting a 98% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The show largely focuses on Maul’s character and how he copes with the difficult times under the Empire, while also subtly connecting to the controversial appearance of Maul in Solo.

We know Darth Vader’s story from beginning to end, but there’s still a lot of room for exploration with Maul. The comic series Maul – Shadow Lord has already added surprising depth to his character, making him a surprisingly sympathetic figure. One particularly powerful scene shows Maul promising his younger self he’ll prevent others from experiencing the same pain he suffered under Sidious, giving him a strange sense of honor despite being a villain.

Both Darth Vader and Darth Maul were manipulated by Palpatine. However, Maul recognized he was being used and attempted to break free, even if his methods were flawed. This gives Maul’s story a powerful emotional depth, while Vader remains trapped in a fixed cycle until the original Star Wars trilogy. Considering this, it’s easy to see why Disney’s Star Wars has found more success exploring Maul’s character than Vader’s.

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2026-05-07 18:40