Solo - Cameo Explained - Was it a Good Idea?

Solo - Cameo Explained - Was it a Good Idea?

**WARNING** MAJOR SPOILERS FOR SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY AHEAD. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

While Solo: A Star Wars Story didn't have many twists and turns and landed right about where you would expect, with Han ready to head into a life of smuggling (perhaps towards Tatooine), there was one particular scene that shocked us all, and that involved the return of a prequel character, none other than Darth Maul himself. 

For many casual moviegoers, a great deal many would have been largely confused at why the Star Wars fans gasped and gawked when this man in red makeup with horns and a red lightsaber appeared via hologram to Kira. 

Even casual Star Wars fans may have been shocked; wasn't Maul cut in half and sent down a shaft in Naboo last we saw him? 

But there is an explanation for this - and his appearance actually makes a lot more sense than you may think.

For those who don't know who this is, the character that appeared at the end of the film is a character from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace named Darth Maul. He was the henchman to Darth Sidious and fought Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon, killing the Jedi master and leaving the apprentice devastated. Obi-Wan later cornered him near a long shaft and Obi-Wan bested him, cutting him in half and throwing the severed top half down into the depths.

Now is where the story diverges; many assumed he died there, but not so. In 2007, Lucasfilm launched the TV Show Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Though Maul did not make an appearance for a good while, he made his grand reentrance in the latter seasons. He was revived by his brother, Savage Oppress, also a dark side force user, who found him among a trash heap on a trash planet, where Maul had constructed spider legs for himself and had gone mentally insane. Savage took Maul to their mother, the leader of the Nightsisters, who restored Maul's sanity, and gifted him with two new, robotic legs.

Here is where the connections begin to present themselves. After this, Maul and Oppress went around the galaxy, becoming warmongers of sorts (as well as having a few run-ins with Obi-Wan, Palpatine, and the like). They made connections with powerful peoples, such as the Mandalorians, Maul even becoming their leader at a certain point. Not much is known about the specifics, but what is known is that Maul went around the galaxy amassing connections and taking over civilizations. 

Then, the Clone Wars TV Show was canceled and out came Star Wars: Rebels, an animated show set between Episodes 3 and 4. Here, Maul made his return as an old hermit, and not much is known about what had happened to him. Long story short, he finds his way on Tatooine where (SPOILERS FOR REBELS AND MAUL) he is defeated by his old enemy, Obi-Wan Kenobi.

So, because Maul appears in Solo: A Star Wars Story, we can safely assume that this takes place a few years before Rebels. And we know that Rebels takes place shortly before the rebellion, so this means that Maul still has a couple years, maybe 5 at the most to live in the current continuity. As for the Crimson Dawn, perhaps in the years between Clone Wars and Rebels, Maul made good with his connections and created the crime ring that we see in the film. We know that Emilia Clarke's Kira was most likely trained by Maul, as she uses the same fighting style that he does.

And so the question becomes - was this a good idea? Yes and no, as with most things. I, for one, thought that his inclusion in the film was one of the most shocking, and exciting parts of the otherwise mundane film. However, this does present some problems. What is doing in Solo, of all movies? Why not the Obi-Wan movies? To me, this was a case of Lucasfilm getting ahead of themselves; I believe that Lucasfilm wanted to include a shocking, fan-favorite just for the sake of it, but they didn't really have a plan for him. Now, because of the dismal box office numbers of Solo, it's more than likely that they won't be able to tell any more stories with Maul, which is a shame because I would have liked to see him in the Obi-Wan film. But there are always ways to work around, and if Lucasfilm really wanted to, they could. 

Solo: A Star Wars Story is in theaters now.