With the new final season of the hit animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars currently being released on the streaming service Disney+, fans have been thrilled to see familiar character show up again– especially Sith Lord Darth Maul, who serves as the key antagonist in the show’s final arc, the Siege of Mandalore.
Maul is voiced by Sam Witwer, who brought the character to aural life previously in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and its sequel series Star Wars Rebels. But for the exciting lightsaber duel between Maul and former Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano in the most recent episode “The Phantom Apprentice,” Executive Producer Dave Filoni decided to bring in the real deal– actor and stuntman Ray Park, who personified the double-bladed lightsaber-wielding Dathomirian in 1999’s Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. In the behind-the-scenes video below, released yesterday on the official Star Wars YouTube channel, Filoni explains why Park was instrumental in reviving Maul one more time.
Watch Inside the Final Duel: Maul vs. Ahsoka | Star Wars: The Clone Wars:
What’s happening:
- Lucasfilm has released a behind-the-scenes YouTube video detailing how actor and stuntman Ray Park returned to motion capture Darth Maul in the latest episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Disney+.
- Ray Park previously played Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and Solo: A Star Wars Story. He is also known for his roles as Toad in X-Men and Snake Eyes in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
What they’re saying:
- Dave Filoni, Executive Producer: “As much as the Obi-Wan vs. Maul fight [in Star Wars Rebels] was brief, I wanted this fight to be big. It got me thinking, ‘I’ve known Ray for a while. Why don’t we bring Ray in and do some motion capture? He could be Maul one more time, physically fighting, so when we see Maul fighting, it’s gonna be really Maul fighting.’ We get the speed of Maul, we get moves that are inherent to Ray. It’s hopefully one of the best fights we did, if not the best lightsaber fight.”
- Ray Park: “It’s amazing to play Darth Maul again. We’ve just been hitting it hard, coming up with some new stuff. It’s been really nice. We’re trying to do as much as we can– butterfly twists and flips and corkscrews. It’ll be fun.”
“The Phantom Apprentice” is available to stream as part of the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars exclusively on Disney+.