Five years ago today, one of the coolest moments in Star Wars history happened, and there’s a chance you don’t know about it. It featured Obi-Wan Kenobi having one final lightsaber duel with his longtime rival Darth Maul, and Kenobi killing Maul in the process. However, the moment didn’t feature actors Ewan McGregor and Ray Park, it was Stephen Stanton and Sam Witwer. It didn’t take place in a film, but on an animated TV program.
Co-written and directed by Dave Filoni, “Twin Suns,” the 20th episode of the third season of Star Wars Rebels, first aired March 18, 2017 on Disney XD. Finally, audiences saw the rivalry that began way back in 1999’s Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace come to a conclusion. Oh, sure. Yes.
“If there’s a character like Maul running around during one of the old films, he’s such a big-time player you think there would have been an echo of that somewhere,” Filoni told io9 back in 2017. “So it was just the right time to tell the story and bring that thread to an end.”
In the episode–which is currently streaming on Disney+, and you absolutely do not need to be a Star Wars Rebels fan to enjoy it (we have plenty of recommendations if you want to become one though)–we see that Maul has been hunting Kenobi. He’s tracked him to Tatooine but can’t find him, so Maul uses the Dark Side to lure the star of Rebels, Jedi apprentice Ezra Bridger, to Tatooine in the hopes of drawing Kenobi out. The plan works, Maul arrives, and Obi-Wan sends Ezra off before readying himself for a fateful clash. This is no duel of the fates, however–no grand, kinetic lightsaber battle of the ages that you might have expected from the final showdown between these figures. In a few strikes Obi-Wan defeats Maul’s arrogance and wins in just seconds. Once more, a Sith is felled at the hands of a Jedi, and Maul and Kenobi share one last goodbye.
“Maul tries to get Obi-Wan with a very similar move as he gets Qui-Gon [in The Phantom Menace],” Filoni told us. He blocks Qui-Gon with the blunt end of his hilt and smacks him in the face. So I had Maul try to do the same thing to Obi-Wan but again, to show growth, Obi-Wan is ready for that and slices it right in half.”
But it’s better than that–this is a clash that isn’t about the theatricality of an extended action sequence, but generations of trauma and grief that shadow over Maul and Obi-Wan alike at this point in their lives. For obvious reasons, Maul dislikes Obi-Wan. When he cut him in half on Naboo, he basically ruined his life. Maul’s master Darth Sidious, presuming him dead, discarded him and moved onto the next apprentice. A life that might have brought him ultimate power became an uphill struggle for survival. Maul’s determination and fury resulted in a long, tragic, but not surprising, history that included robot spider legs and evil family members and finally his takeover of a criminal syndicate. Maul and ObiWan, who haven’t seen one another since The Clone Wars , when Maul brutally murdered Mandalore’s Duchess, Satine, Kryze. This was a remarkable conversation. Maul states that he wants the Jedi to die, but that he believes leaving him to rot in this terrible planet is a better fate. Maul quickly realizes that Obi-Wan exists for a purpose. He’s protecting… someone. Once Maul has figured it out Obi-Wan will know he needs to be stopped. His mission, and the galaxy, depends on it.
Obi-Wan does indeed stop him in an instant, but just as quickly grabs his defeated foe in his arms as he struck him down. As his life drains out of him, Maul asks Obi-Wan if the person he’s protecting is the Chosen One who’ll defeat the Sith. Obi-Wan confirms that it is. “Then he will avenge us,” Maul says, finally, painfully linking all his rage and anger to Obi-Wan–because he, much like all the Jedi, had been betrayed and ruined by Darth Sidious. This is a powerful and poignant moment that humanizes a villain we love to hate.
Everything about the episode is just stunning. It’s all amazing: the music, cinematography and Maul’s horrible rants. Ezra’s manipulation is just a few of the many highlights. Obi-Wan has a great grasp of the whole episode. In 22 minutes, Filoni packs in more stakes, tension, story, and mythology than a few of the more recent Star Wars feature films.
Of course, many of the new Star Wars Disney+ shows have a similar feel, largely because Filoni is still part of their development as a producer as well as director, and that makes the timing of this anniversary even more interesting. You see, earlier this week, rumors began to spread that Maul was considered as part of the upcoming Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi show, only for Filoni himself to nix the idea in favor of bringing back Darth Vader. And though Lucasfilm reportedly denied the rumor, the idea of it even being tangentially discussed is a slap in the face to “Twin Suns,” which so elegantly shows not just Maul and Kenobi showing down for the last time, but, chronologically, one of our first glimpses of a young Luke Skywalker as well.
Oh. Right. Speaking of elegantly doing things that will happen on the Obi-Wan Kenobi show, “Twin Suns” goes one step further, beating the upcoming show to being the first to show a young Luke Skywalker running around on Tatooine. (He’s just a small blip on the screen here, barely recognizable, while the new show will have him more prominently.) Filoni spoke to us in an interview about this decision five years ago.
“We have to look at every episode of Rebels as if you’ve never seen Star Wars before,” he said. He said, “So when Maul or Obi-Wan talk about ‘The Chosen One?’ or ‘Whom are you protecting?’ then you have to think that in that manner. There are many people out there who don’t understand what’s happening. While the Star Wars enthusiast will, most people won’t. So at the very least the scene establishes, in its simplest form, there’s Obi-Wan, he was protecting someone, and there’s a woman yelling ‘Luke,’ and we see what we think of as a young boy running. ‘Oh, so Obi-Wan is protecting a boy named Luke.’ It’s designed to give you that specific bit of information that you need in the story.”
“Now, if you’re a fan and you go ‘OH MY GOD that’s Luke Skywalker!’ that’s even better,” he continued. “Now you’re getting the whole thing… You can’t rely on the Star Wars films as if they have been universally watched even though we know that they are popular. You can’t rely on the Star Wars films as if they’ve been universally watched even though we know they’re pretty popular.”
Sounds familiar, does it not? It’s not easy to be popular with something that isn’t widely known. Yes, the Star Wars films are very popular. However, the Star Wars animated series are less popular. Despite their warm reputation, it is less so. “Twin Suns,” that debuted today five years ago, deserves to be seen alongside these films. It is especially noteworthy because it did so well and succinctly what many will be talking about when the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series comes out.
“Twin Suns” is currently streaming on Disney+ as part of Star Wars Rebels season three. Read our Filoni interview starting with the premiere episode at this link .
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