Since Darth Maul's return in the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars series, the fallen Sith has become a fan favorite for many. Featuring in many different Star Wars media, the character finally made his return to live-action in 2018's Solo: A Star Wars Story. While it seemed to be setting up Maul's return in future movies, Disney has been quiet about the character's future, raising questions among fans about whether he'll ever receive his own movie.
At the end of Solo, Han's former partner-in-crime Qi'ra stays behind and calls a mysterious figure to report that her boss, Dryden Vos, is dead. The voice and robotic legs reveal the figure to be Maul, who requests that Qi'ra visit him in person on his home planet of Dathomir. The moment was a shocking and pleasant surprise for fans, with Maul even showing off his iconic double-bladed lightsaber, and subtle "Duel of the Fates" music in the background.
While those who keep up to date on everything Star Wars would've been used to Maul's return, for many viewers, his return in Solo was the first time seeing him since Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Disney even brought back the original actor Ray Park for the scene and used Sam Witwer for the voice, who's played Maul in every animation. By explaining so little about his return, it seems Disney expected people to go back and watch The Clone Wars. However, Maul's place in the Star Wars timeline during Solo has still yet to be elaborated upon even three years later.
Chronologically, Maul is seen at the end of The Clone Wars Season 7 as he flees Ahsoka's cruiser during Order 66. The character then isn't seen until Solo, where he is seemingly in charge of a large crime syndicate. While it seems like his story will continue from there, Maul doesn't appear until many years later in Star Wars Rebels on the planet Malachor V, with no crime syndicate and little power.
This leaves a huge chunk of missing time in Maul's timeline, which seemed like it was going to be filled out after Solo. Yet not only has Maul's story here not been expanded upon, but Disney has given no mention to any upcoming Maul movies or media in their extensive Star Wars plans. While a lot of Maul's story has been told overall, it seems strange to have set up this crime-syndicate plotline with Qi'ra, then never return to it.
While Disney has gone quiet on the matter, there's still hope for Maul to once again return to the big screen. Directors Taika Waititi and Kevin Feige each were announced to have their own Star Wars movie in the late 2020s, so it's possible either could take place between Solo: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars Rebels. Plus, he could also plausibly appear in the upcoming Lando Disney+ show, which will take place right after Solo. Either way, it seems unlikely that Disney would go through the effort of bringing back Maul for a live-action cameo without further plans for the character.
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