Solo: A Star Wars Story didn't do as well as Disney and Lucasfilm were hoping. The movie underperformed both critically and financially, but that doesn't mean that everything was all bad. It may have been by the books, but Solo had some fun scenes with good action. One of the best scenes in the movie comes in the form of a surprise cameo from Darth Maul, the former Sith Lord revealed to be the real Big Bad of the film. It was a fan-favorite moment, and that scene is now available for you to watch in full.
This clip is no doubt confusing for those who haven't been keeping up with the various Star Wars animated series, so here's a crash course. Through the dark side, Maul survived his defeat by Obi-Wan in The Phantom Menace and lived as a crazy, half-robot spider on a dumpster planet-- before he was rescued and brought back into the fold by his brother and some witches. Now a freelancer, Maul set off to get revenge on everyone who wronged him and to acquire power. He mostly did this by becoming a crime lord, eventually going on to lead Crimson Dawn, the bad guys in Solo.
It's entirely possible that explanation just made you more confused, but watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars and it'll clear itself up. The point is, Darth Maul has been back for a while, but this is his first live action appearance since 1999. And it's awesome! The scene itself, which can now be found on YouTube thanks to IGN, takes place at the end of the movie, where Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke) contacts Maul and informs him that Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson) has betrayed them. Maul tells Qi'ra to meet him on Dathomir, and they will be working much closer from now on.
This was a treat for Maul fans, but it does leave some questions. The biggest is will we ever see the payoff for this? Solo grossed $392.9 million worldwide, so it's unclear if Disney and Lucasfilm will move forward with a sequel, which is assumably the best place to see Maul again. Perhaps a comic book or novel will be released to fill in the gaps, but no such projects have been announced yet. Until then, fans will just have to tide themselves over by watching The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels.
Darth Maul is not showing up, but the next Star Wars movie hitting theaters is the mysterious Episode IX on December 20, 2019. To learn more about the movie, check out our handy guide right here. For more movie news, be sure to keep it right here at CinemaBlend.
