Almost two decades after his introduction and untimely demise in The Phantom Menace, Darth Maul is still one of the most popular Star Wars villains. Now, the baddest bad guy of the prequel trilogy is getting his own prequel comic book miniseries from Marvel.

USA Today broke the story that Marvel is planning a Star Wars: Darth Maul miniseries by writer Cullen Bunn and artist Luke Ross that will run for five issues. The miniseries will apparently take place before The Phantom Menace, when Maul was a much younger warrior. Unfortunately, that means we won’t be getting the long awaited Darth Maul vs. Darth Vader fight in this series, but we suspect that is being saved for Star Wars Rebels.

Speaking of which, Bunn indicated that his characterization of Maul will draw upon his appearances in Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The story will also introduce Eldra Kaitis, a young Jedi Padawan whom Maul intends to transform into his new apprentice. But first, Maul will have to rescue Eldra from a crime lord and see if he can turn him towards the dark side of the Force. That seems to echo Maul’s intentions towards Ezra Bridger on Rebels.

“[Eldra] has a huge impact on Maul’s life going forward,” teased Bunn, who also indicated that Maul is “not a very warm teacher.” Bunn added that “a big part of the story is Darth Maul’s descent to the dark side and almost being tempted away from it.”

The initial report did not include a release date for Star Wars: Darth Maul #1, but we suspect that it will drop in early 2017.

Are you excited to read a Darth Maul adventure? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Image: Marvel Comics/Lucasfilm