29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Star Wars' Darth Maul had huge role in second major film and fans never realised
Star Wars has no shortage of memorable villains. Darth Vader may be the most notorious, but there's also the repugnant gangster Jabba the Hutt, bounty hunter Boba Fett, and the evil Emperor Palpatine, to mention a few.
The first instalment of the prequel trilogy - The Phantom Menace - released in 1999, introduced fans to a chilling new antagonist. Darth Maul, with his red and black face paint, crown of horns, and iconic double-bladed lightsaber, was a terrifying presence.
This role marked a significant breakthrough for Ray Park, the Scottish actor behind the menacing character. Prior to this, Park had competed in martial arts tournaments and was part of the British national wushu team.
He had also worked as a stunt double, including in 1997's Mortal Kombat Annihilation, and served as Christopher Walken's body double in 1999's Sleepy Hollow.
Park even added a few personal touches to the character. Observant viewers will notice that Maul only blinks once throughout his entire screen time in The Phantom Menace, reports the Irish Star.
While this enhances his frightening persona, it was reportedly a decision made by Park due to the discomfort caused by the red and yellow contact lenses he had to wear. Additionally, Maul has a piercing in his upper left ear - apparently because Park forgot to remove his own piercing before going into makeup.
Apart from Star Wars, Ray also landed a role in another big franchise. Just a year after The Phantom Menace, he played Toad, Magneto's agile mutant sidekick, in the first X-Men film.
In one scene, he even pays homage to his Star Wars character by wielding an iron bar similarly to his iconic lightsaber.
The epic lightsaber duel in The Phantom Menace, where Qui-Gon Jinn dies and Darth Maul is cut in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi, is often ranked as one of the best fights in the series, thanks to Ray's impressive acrobatic moves. He also showcased his physical skills as Toad and later as Snake Eyes in the two G.I. Joe films.
Although Darth Maul's apparent demise in The Phantom Menace was his last appearance in the prequel trilogy, animated shows later revealed that he survived, got robotic legs, and sought revenge against Kenobi.
After Disney acquired the Star Wars franchise in 2012 and announced new movies, Ray expressed interest in returning. In a 2013 interview with he said: "I was excited about the possibility of the new Star Wars, but I didn't once think about me coming back."
Ray expressed his enthusiasm, stating: "Talking to everybody, now I'm getting excited. I'm practicing my two-sided lightsabers in hopes that I [will] be asked. I would love to do it. I would love to come back as Maul and take the top off and do the whole tattoo body and robot legs. It [would] be fun."
The opportunity to reprise his role as Maul arose with a surprise cameo in the 2018 film Solo: A Star Wars Story. Recounting the moment he was offered the part, Ray said in an interview with Forbes: "I got the phone call from Lynne Hale from Lucasfilm. And it was really nice of her, because she said to me 'Ray, we're just calling to see if you would like to do it.' And I went 'Yeah. Do you want me on the plane now?'".
In 2020, Ray provided motion capture for an animated sequence featuring Maul in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Dave Filoni, the show's creator, revealed his thought process behind the decision to involve Ray: "I wanted this fight to be big, and it got me thinking - and I've known Ray for a while - but why don't we bring Ray in and do some motion capture? He could be Maul one more time, physically fighting."
During a rehearsal for the fight scene, Ray shared his experience of reprising the role: "It's amazing to play Darth Maul again. We've just been hitting it hard, coming up with some new stuff. It's been really nice, we're trying to do as much as we can - butterfly twists and flips and corkscrews, it'll be fun."
Ray Park, who originally played Toad in the X-Men films, didn't return for the character's later appearances, including in last year's Deadpool and Wolverine. But there's another character he's keen to revisit.
Speaking to Forbes, Ray expressed his desire to don the mask of Snake Eyes again, a fan-favourite from the G.I. Joe series. "I'm in a different state in my life now then I was before," he explained.
"I'm a lot fitter, I'm older, I'm wiser I think, and I'd like to bring that to Snake Eyes."
He also mentioned, "I was signed on for three movies, and I would like to do the third one. I'd like to finish it."
