Anakin Skywalker and Darth Maul are central characters in the Clone Wars period. At this point, they are on opposite ends of the galactic struggle, yet they never interact directly.
Why didn’t we see the two interact in The Clone Wars series? And, what would it have been like if they had intersected? Read on to find out more.
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Darth Maul During the Clone Wars
As the apprentice to Palpatine, Darth Maul was the top Sith for a time. He was a force to be reckoned with and chased after Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace.
As we see in this scene, Maul almost defeated Qui-Gon on Tatooine.
Darth Maul could have also killed Anakin in this scene. As he went after Qui-Gon Jinn, Maul could have “run over Anakin with his speeder” and drastically changed the saga.
Yet, at that point, Maul was probably not tuned into the Chosen One’s true identity.
We know what happened to Maul in this movie. He killed Qui-Gon and then Obi-Wan sliced him in two.
After Maul fell, he resided in “the junk planet of Lotho Minor” and plunged into “madness” in spider-like form.
Fans know how his brother Savage Opress brought Maul back to Dathomir and the Nightsisters revived him.
Once Maul began his quest for revenge on Obi-Wan, audiences may have seen his return. Maul plotted the Siege of Mandalore to lure Anakin and Obi-Wan there.
If The Clone Wars depicted the two of them going there, we would have witnessed a major interaction.
Why We Never See These Two Interact in The Clone Wars
Yet, we do not see this happen in the series. Fans tend to think it is a tragedy of sorts that we did not get to see Anakin and Maul interact.
It would have been interesting to see “how their chemistry would’ve been” or whether Ahsoka was right when she said that Maul “wouldn’t have lasted long” in a lightsaber duel with Anakin.
Yet, another post points out how their interaction would not have only disrupted continuity in the timeline but also would end up “coming across poorly on Anakin.”
That their interaction would have been disruptive and perhaps poorly executed are two prime reasons why we do not see the two together.
For one, interjecting Maul may have broken up the continuity of the story of Palpatine turning against Maul and bringing in Count Dooku as his new apprentice.
It may have also upended the issuance of Order 66. This creative move aimed to preserve continuity within the Star Wars universe, as with General Grievous.
Anakin also did not interact with Grievous in The Clone Wars. Since their first meeting occurred at the beginning of Revenge of the Sith, the show was constrained by this timeline.
The series had Anakin and Grievous “get very close in certain episodes of the seven-season series,” such as the Separatist campaign on Kamino and the episode “Shadow Warrior” where they went past each other. But having them interact would create holes in the movies.
Two, if they had interacted, it may have been a forced encounter that did not come off well.
Anakin would need to live, and Maul’s extended trajectory would need to be preserved. So, we may have seen a clumsy draw.
In addition, as fans testify here, George Lucas did not think about Maul’s survival until after the prequel movies were completed. During much of The Clone Wars, Maul was stuck on the “garbage planet.”
What If They Had Interacted?
However, it could have been engaging if the two had interacted. As this video conveys, Anakin was “particularly skilled” at the Djem So form of lightsaber fighting.
Maul was a “powerful assassin who mastered his anger” and “a strong and acrobatic warrior.” If free from movie constraints, these two would have provided an incredible match, with Anakin probably prevailing.
We can also turn to the comics to get a sense of how their interaction may have occurred. In Obi-Wan & Anakin #1, Anakin fought a training droid that “took on the form and the fighting style of Darth Maul.”
This was at the time of Attack of the Clones when Anakin was still honing his skills, but still easily won the pretend fight.
Many fans think that a match-up between Anakin and Maul in The Clone Wars would have ended in Maul’s defeat.
Another possibility is that Maul may have tried to capture Anakin, or he may have even run away and hid from Anakin.
Anakin and Maul Don’t Interact
In the end, we do not get to see these two main characters interact because it would have disrupted the Star Wars galaxy too much and possibly not been portrayed well.
If they had interacted, Anakin seems posed to get the better of a lightsaber duel.
Yet, Maul has always been full of tricks and may have surprised us.