Ever since his introduction in The Phantom Menace, Darth Maul has been a fan-favorite Star Wars character. In fact, he is arguably the franchise’s most popular character in content released after the original trilogy. Beginning as a fierce, cool-looking villain in The Phantom Menace, Maul has since become a more fascinating, well-developed, and even tragic figure. Much of this development occurred in the animated series The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, along with comics like Son of Dathomir.
Intrigue for Maul increased even further with his surprise appearance at the end of Solo: A Star Wars Story. While many facets of Maul’s character have been explored throughout these stories, one aspect fans consistently see is him wielding his iconic red lightsabers. Let’s take a closer look at his prized weapons as we dive into 10 Fascinating Facts About Darth Maul’s Lightsabers In Star Wars Canon.
10. An Ancient Sith Design
Many fans lost their minds when Darth Maul first ignited his double-bladed red lightsaber in The Phantom Menace. This seemingly unique design is actually rooted in ancient knowledge of the Sith. Maul used a Sith Holocron in the possession of his master Darth Sidious to learn of the double-bladed design and use it to create his own lightsaber. This was revealed in the canon book Star Wars Lightsabers: A Guide to the Weapons of the Force, revealing how Maul’s first lightsaber was a design personal to him and it honored the knowledge passed down by previous Sith.
9. Half Of The Original Lightsaber
Maul lost half his lightsaber and half his body at the end of The Phantom Menace. Against all odds, Maul managed to survive and resurfaced in The Clone Wars, building a formidable criminal empire and eager to have his revenge against Obi-Wan Kenobi. The red lightsaber that Maul is seen using throughout The Clone Wars is actually half of the original double-bladed lightsaber he fought with in The Phantom Menace. He managed to hold onto that half for many years and used it to duel Obi-Wan and establish his criminal empire.
8. His Lightsaber Led To An Alliance With Death Watch
Forging an alliance with Death Watch was crucial to Maul building his own criminal empire. Death Watch’s leader Pre Vizsla first encountered Maul and his brother Savage Oppress unconscious and adrift in space in The Clone Wars episode “Eminence.” Upon seeing Maul’s lightsaber, Pre Vizsla decided to spare Maul’s life as he wanted to hear Maul’s story, believing that an enemy of the Jedi could be an ally to Death Watch. Even while unconcious, Maul’s lightsaber saved his life, and put him on the path to using Death Watch and Mandalore to attain political power like nothing he’d ever had before.
7. Loss Of The Original Lightsaber
Maul lost nearly everything when Obi-Wan defeated him at the end of The Phantom Menace. That made it all the more impressive for fans to see in The Clone Wars that Maul not only survived, but that he was able to become a fearsome figure in the galaxy, arguably more influential than ever before. Darth Sidious eventually put Maul back in his place when confronting his former apprentice on Mandalore in The Clone Wars episode “The Lawless.” Sidious butchered Maul’s brother Savage Oppress and handed Maul a humiliating defeat. During this duel, Maul lost the original half of his double-bladed lightsaber that he’d held onto for many years, once again causing Maul to lose nearly everything he had.
6. A Second Lightsaber
Maul lost his original lightsaber in The Clone Wars and he did not repossess it in comics like Son of Dathomir, where he instead wielded the Darksaber. By the time of Star Wars Rebels, though, Maul was seen fighting with a new red lightsaber. This one also featured two blades, but it also included some new features and design choices that differed from Maul’s original weapon.
This second red lightsaber also appeared in Solo. Since Solo takes place before Rebels, this means that Maul designed this new lightsaber some time after The Clone Wars and Son of Dathomir, but before Solo.
5. The Wooden Stick Trick
Maul sometimes attached a wooden stick to the hilt of his second lightsaber, making it appear as though he was leaning on a walking stick instead of a deadly weapon that could be ignited at any moment. This trick initially fooled Ezra Bridger into believing that Maul was an old, feeble individual as he saw Maul depending on his “walking stick” on Malachor. The hilt could be easily detached from the wooden stick, allowing Maul to ignite his lightsaber and wield it at a moment’s notice. Maul also attached the walking stick to the lightsaber hilt during his desperate, crazed trek across Tatooine, which ultimately culminated in his final duel with Obi-Wan.
4. The Prongs
One of the ways that Maul’s second lightsaber differed from his first design was in the prongs of the lightsaber’s hilt. Concept art from the Star Wars Rebels episode “Twilight of the Apprentice” show that the prongs at the hilt were rigged to move in the same manner that the prongs moved on the hilt of the Imperial Inquisitors’ red lightsabers. These prongs allowed Maul to wield this lightsaber in a more versatile manner than with his first lightsaber, and also helped him defeat the Inquisitors he faced on Malachor.
3. The Solo Lightsaber Moment
Sam Witwer - the voice of Maul in The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and Solo - revealed at the end of Solo that Maul was originally going to be seen igniting his double-bladed lightsaber from The Phantom Menace. Knowing Maul as well as he did from voicing the character in The Clone Wars and Rebels, Witwer suggested it made more sense for Maul to either have the Darksaber or his second red lightsaber that he used in Rebels.
Fortunately, the filmmakers listened to Witwer’s expertise on the character, and Maul’s lightsaber from Rebels appeared in the scene instead of The Phantom Menace double-bladed lightsaber that Maul no longer possessed.
2. The Downfall Of Double-Bladed Lightsabers
Maul certainly had a penchant for double-bladed lightsabers. His first and final defeat at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi show that double-bladed lightsabers might not be the most practical weapons, though. Obi-Wan cut Maul’s first lightsaber in half during the Battle of Naboo, shortly after which Obi-Wan cut Maul in half and sent his adversary plunging into the depths below. Maul reemerged years later with a new double-bladed lightsaber and achieved many impressive feats, yet he was ultimately defeated for good by an older and wiser Obi-Wan, during which Maul’s second lightsaber was also cut in half.
1. The First Canon Double-Bladed Lightsaber
A number of characters in Star Wars canon have wielded double-bladed lightsabers over the years, but Darth Maul was the first to do so in The Phantom Menace. He set the precedent that a number of canon characters would follow, many of which favored the dark side. This included Maul’s brother Savage Oppress, who like Maul wielded a double-bladed red lightsaber. The clone trooper-hating Jedi Master Pong Krell fought with two double-bladed lightsabers - one blue and one green - while the Imperial Inquisitors had red double-bladed spinning lightsabers. All these characters and their lightsabers were impressive in their own way, but Maul will always have the first and most memorable double-bladed lightsaber.
What other fascinating facts about Darth Maul’s lightsabers in Star Wars canon did we miss? Let us know in the comments!
