Watch the surprise ending to Solo: A Star Wars Story

In Solo: A Star Wars Story, Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke played the character Qi’ra, the childhood sweetheart of Han Solo, and shadowy lieutenant in the criminal organization Crimson Dawn, led by Maul (he was stripped of the title of Darth when his master Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine defeated him in combat).

In the final chapter of the film, Qi’ra opens a holo-communicator and has a conversation with a hooded individual who quickly reveals himself to be none other than Maul. This scene was leaked when Solo hit theaters this summer, but now Lucasfilm has officially released it, as part of the marketing for the film’s home release.

This was probably one the bigger twists in Star Wars cinematic history, as no one really expected to see a character that was thought dead in Episode I: The Phantom Menace, was miraculously brought back to life for The Clone Wars animated series, then returned as an old but bitter man in Star Wars Rebels only to finally be killed by his longtime nemesis, an aging Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine.

The actor who originally brought Maul to life in Episode I, Ray Park, recently spoke to Forbes about getting that surprise call to reprise his iconic fan-favorite role.

“I found out last June/July when we were in Guatemala,” Park tells 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 [inhales slowly] ‘Yeah. Do you want me on the plane now?’”

In the photos above, you can see Maul’s robotic legs. If you remember, at the end of The Phantom Menace, Obi-Wan slices Darth Maul in half. Years later, when his brother found him on a junk planet, Maul had gone mad from having to survive without legs, turning to the Dark Side of the force to draw strength and fashion spider-like legs for him to get around on.

"View post on imgur.com"

Later, when Maul began forming Crimson Dawn, he ran into Death Watch, a militaristic group of Mandalorians who gave him the legs he has now. In Solo: A Star Wars Story, Park didn’t lend his voice to the role of Maul, instead, the voice actor who portrayed the character in The Clone Wars and in Star Wars Rebels — Sam Witwer — took care of that.

Park said the process was simple. He was given “a couple of sheets of what was going on beforehand, and then what was happening, and it’s pretty cool, because Sam [Witwer] did the voice and it was a different process for me,” he noted. “It was hearing the voice and then acting as well, so I really enjoyed this experience.”

It’s very cool to see that Disney is continuing the continuity of Star Wars through animation, comics, and films. But, the real question remains: Will we see Maul again in future Star Wars films? And if so, does he even like his new double-bladed lightsaber?

"If anything ever happens in the future and the character is back, and it’s me? I have a lot of great ideas of what I’d like to do with it."

Solo: A Star Wars Story will be released in digital form on September 14, and on Blu-Ray on September 25.

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