Star Wars: What Darth Maul Actor Ray Park Looks Like Today
While 1999's "Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace" was intended as a vehicle to give new depth to Darth Vader, a newly introduced villain ended up taking the spotlight. That baddie was none other than Darth Maul, who has since become one of the franchise's most recognized faces.
A pawn of the sinister Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid), Maul's plans to get Queen Padmé (Natalie Portman) to sign over invasion rights to his master are halted by the combined might of Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). Battles break out between the formidable Sith Lord and the honorable Jedi duo, resulting in Qui-Gon's death from Maul's double-edged lightsaber and Maul's own demise at the hands of Obi-Wan. While seemingly the villain's end, Maul made comebacks in the animated series "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and "Star Wars: Rebels" and a live-action appearance at the end of 2018's "Solo: A Star Wars Story."
While actors Peter Serafinowicz and Sam Witwer have voiced Maul over the years, Ray Park has embodied the Sith Lord in both his live-action appearances; he also did motion capture work for the character in the last season of "Clone Wars." Park's dedication to the role comes to life in the intense fight scenes, where his background as a stuntman and martial artist is boldly on display. Despite being nearly 50 at the time of writing, Park is as in shape as ever before as a scroll through his social media will present. But there might be more to his physique upkeep than meets the eye.
Maul was rumored to make a comeback in several recent Star Wars projects
After returning to the role he originated nearly 20 years prior for "Solo: A Star Wars Story," things seemed bright for Ray Park's future as Darth Maul. When asked by Nerdist in 2018 if there was any potential for more Maul, he stated, "I hope so. I'm wishing ... that would be another big dream come true, to get a phone call again." And when the time comes, Park will be more than ready, with the actor continuing, "I'm still training really hard and actually, my training now is just in case."
Despite keeping his good looks intact for such a possibility, not much has manifested from the surprise cameo. But some near opportunities did present themselves. The book "Star Wars Archives: 1999-2005" contained George Lucas' initial plans for the sequel trilogy. In it, Maul would have taken Emperor Palpatine's place as the series' overarching antagonist with the Sith Lord Darth Talon set to be his apprentice.
More recently, rumors spread that Maul was set to play a part in the 2022 Disney+ series "Obi-Wan Kenobi," with further hearsay even indicating that Park was actively preparing for a return. The show reportedly would have seen Maul on the hunt for Obi-Wan and a young Luke Skywalker, resulting in a rematch between Sith and Jedi. However, there were concerns that the series was shaping up to mirror "The Mandalorian" too closely and more focus was put on Darth Vader as a result. Contradictory statements exist as to Park's involvement; some say progress went as far as to include test footage while others have denied Maul's comeback completely.