Warning: Spoilers for Solo: A Star Wars Story
LucasfilmFrom Darth Vader to Kylo Ren, the Star Wars galaxy is bursting with some of the most devilishly deviant bad guys to ever grace the silver screen.
Now, with the release of Solo: A Star Wars Story we’ve got a new villain to haunt our nightmares, the charismatic crime lord, Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany), who leads the evil crime syndicate, the Crimson Dawn.
Petty, violent and greedy, Dryden is the perfect villain for Han’s first solo (pun intended) adventure, but as Qui-Gon Jinn once said, ‘there’s always a bigger fish’ and Vos is no exception to the rule.
LucasFilm As revealed by Qi’ra at the end of the film, there’s an unseen dark threat who really controls the Crimson Dawn. Who is this phantom menace?
Well, it’s none other than Darth Maul of Episode I fame, who cinema goers last saw on the big-screen when Obi-Wan cut him in half, seemingly killing the Sith apprentice.
Fans of The Clone Wars and Rebels, however, will know it takes more than being bisected to keep a good Sith down, and Maul survived his encounter with Obi-Wan.
LucasfilmWarning: what follows is a brief history of Darth Maul don’t @ me if I’ve missed anything!
Following his fateful duel with Kenobi, Maul was grievously injured, but managed to survive thanks to his seething hatred (it’s a Dark Side thing) and managed to make his way to his homeworld of Dathomir.
Through some Sith alchemy shenanigans, courtesy of his mother, Maul ended up with a new pair of legs and a new mission, to kill the men who’d ruined his life, Darth Sidious and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Long story short, Maul ends up popping up throughout the Clone Wars as a Charlie Day-style wildcard, mucking with both the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems’ plans.
History lesson over:
However, following the events of the Clone Wars, it seems Maul’s gone to ground (presumably in an attempt to avoid his former master) and is running the Crimson Dawn from the shadows.
For years his fans have bemoaned the fact Maul was wasted in Episode I where he was supposedly the film’s main villain, but ended up being better remembered for his cool lightsaber than as a bad guy.
We’re hoping Maul will serve as the Solo Trilogy’s main bad guy, and the films will give the much-loved character a chance to prove he’s more than just an iconic design to film fans.
Of course, there’s one snafu in our theory he’s going to be Solo’s new nemesis. In Episode IV Han doesn’t believe in the Jedi’s hokey old religion, which seems to suggest he’s never run into a Force user before.
It seemed strange so we spoke to one of the stars of Solo: A Star Wars Story, Emilia Clarke, about the deadly Sith’s appearance and she seemed to confirm the character would return, even if the film’s writers hadn’t told her explicitly yet.
She told UNILAD:
I don’t know and I don’t know where this particular storyline will go, no one’s told me scouts honour. But from my own personal research, ‘yes’.
If he does return though maybe Han and Maul never meet? Maybe Han gets his memory conveniently wiped like C-3PO? We don’t know quite what will happen to Han but we’re excited to find out!
Solo: A Star Wars Story is out in cinemas now!
More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.
Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.
He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.