26 years later, we now have an thrilling alternative for Star Wars to lastly give us the Sith showdown we have all the time wished. Whereas the Jedi are the sworn enemies of the Sith, the Sith Lords themselves are additionally their very own worst enemies. As such, an upcoming sequence might lastly pit two of the franchise’s greatest villains in opposition to one another.
1999’s The Phantom Menace debuted Palpatine’s first apprentice, Darth Maul. Though he was defeated by the film’s finish, Maul survived to grow to be one in all Star Wars’ hottest recurring villains, even after his grasp rejected him. Now, 2026’s Maul: Shadow Lord may give us the long-awaited Sith showdown between Maul and the apprentice who in the end changed him.
Darth Maul Was Skilled To Take Down Jedi
A grasp of the lightsaber fight type often known as Juyo or Kind VII, Darth Maul’s talent with a double-bladed lightsaber was unparalleled. Skilled by Palpatine for the only function of killing Jedi, Darth Maul was really a darkish pressure to be reckoned with.
Due to his lightsaber, Maul had a robust benefit each offensively and defensively, permitting him to manage a duel with ease even whereas dueling a number of opponents directly, as we see throughout The Phantom Menace’s “Duel of the Fates” with Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Kind VII was also referred to as the Ferocity Kind, permitting Maul to channel his intense rage and aggression in opposition to his foes. For all intents and functions, Darth Maul was constructed to kill Jedi Knights. Preserving that in thoughts, that is one thing that would truly turn out to be useful when and if we get a long-awaited Sith showdown in 2026’s Shadow Lord.
We have At all times Puzzled What Would Occur If Maul Fought Vader
Technically, we have seen a non-canonical model of a Darth Vader/Maul duel in 2001’s Star Wars Tales #9. In that story, Vader emerged the victor, catching Maul off-guard with an unorthodox lightsaber thrust by his personal facet to impale and kill Maul behind him, with Vader’s self-hatred outweighing Maul’s energy in the dead of night facet.
Nonetheless, Maul: Shadow Lord is the primary time we would lastly see a canonical duel between the 2 Sith through the Darkish Instances.
Through the Darkish Instances, we all know Maul was running the crime syndicate Crimson Dawn. Likewise, unique footage for Shadow Lord proven at Star Wars Celebration 2025 noticed Maul not solely dueling with the Imperial Inquisitor Marrok, however probably even coaching his personal apprentice. As such, it actually does appear as if Maul may find yourself on Darth Vader’s radar.
The fascinating factor is that in the event that they did certainly duel through the Darkish Instances…it means Maul survived. In any case, we all know Maul in the end meets his demise dueling Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars Rebels. It is truly a reasonably spectacular idea to consider, as few had the required expertise to tackle Darth Vader (and dwell to speak about it).
It is doable that Vader’s Jedi coaching as Anakin Skywalker meant Maul had extra of an concept of the best way to counter him, particularly if the Shadow Lord takes place earlier through the Darkish Instances when Vader was nonetheless on the primary steps of his darkish facet path.
Maul: Shadow Lord is ready to launch in 2026, streaming on Disney+.
