As it turns out, the original villain for the final Star Wars trilogy had George Lucas been in charge would have been none other than Darth Maul.
Most everyone loved Darth Maul, who was likely the greatest character to come out of the Phantom Menace. He felt like a villain worthy to follow - or technically to precede, if you will - one of the greatest villains in cinematic history: Darth Vader. Darth Maul was intimidating, and indeed, he felt menacing throughout the movie, at least until it appeared that they killed him off.
We know now that he was not dead, in fact. According to the Star Wars: Clone Wars cartoon, he made another appearance, only with eight mechanical legs, like an insect. Then, of course, he made another appearance, but in the movies this time, in Solo, although his appearance felt a little bit forced, admittedly. He brought out a lightsaber on the equivalent of a conference call, which again, made little sense.
Yet, he was back. And apparently, he was supposed to be back as the main antagonist for the final sequel, if it had been done by George Lucas. But he sold the movie rights to Disney, and they never even gave the trilogy a much needed story arc. So in the final movie, JJ Abrams brought back Emperor Palpatine, a decision which has been questioned and requestioned ever since. By bringing Palpatine back, does that not negate the sacrifice by Anakin Sjywalker/Darth Vader, which renders the prophecy of him bringing balance back to the Force null and void? Also, how old would Palpatine have to be by that point. In between the time frame of Revenge of the Sith and the finale of the sequel trilogy, a lot of time has passed, well over 50 years, if not closer to 60. Palpatine was no spring chicken already by the end of the prequels, and now he has added 50-60 years, yet he is growing more powerful, almost by the minute?
It was not executed well, and raised more questions than it answered. Also, Palpatine felt diminished, because he felt at once both weaker and, paradoxically, stronger, than we had ever seen him before. But his strength felt force and false, just there for the storyline, in order to move it along, but never a particularly believable aspect of the movie.
Whatever. Palpatine did not work for many, and obviously, that includes me. A whole new antagonist could and should (and really, was) introduced. Maybe Snoke could have served as that villain, or maybe some other villain could have been introduced. Palpatine did not work. But maybe Darth Maul would have worked.
Unfortunately, it seems right now like we will never know.
In any case, here is a link to an article about how, in fact, Darth Maul was supposed to be the main villain in the final trilogy:
George Lucas’ Star Wars Sequels Had Darth Maul As Main Villain by Jonathan Wright, December, 2020:
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