Luke Skywalker can’t believe his former mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, defeated the dastardly Darth Maul so quickly at the end of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Or, rather, Mark Hamill told reporters over the weekend that he can’t believe Maul was written off so quickly from the prequels.
As reported by Polygon while Hamill spoke to reporters during press for Star Wars: The Last Jedi at D23, Disney’s convention in Anaheim, California, he said: “Darth Maul was just the coolest looking. I couldn’t believe they disposed of him so quickly. I thought he would last through all three movies.”
Honestly, Hamill’s assumption makes sense. Darth Vader, the main, physical threat against the Rebellion and Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy lasted through all three movies, and there was little precedent for named, one-off characters (especially ones with lightsabers) with little backstory when Hamill was in the picture. The Phantom Menace was the first Star Wars film to change things up a bit and further explore the world Lucas had created.
Of course, Maul wasn’t disposed of too quickly, as he came back in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and, later, Star Wars Rebels as a persistent threat before Obi-Wan finally defeated him in a desert duel on Tatooine. He was just never referenced in the Star Wars films again.