Star Wars Rebels second season has been slowly building towards an epic showdown between Darth Vader and his former apprentice, Ahsoka Tano. But there may be an even more anticipated battle coming in the near future, in next week.s season finale. In it, Star Wars Rebels will bring back a classic villain in a way that may shake up the series going forward. This is your spoiler warning, and your last chance to stop reading now!

Still with us? Then here we go.

That’s right: Darth Maul is back! Fans guessed that Maul’s return was imminent when Ezra encountered a very familiar looking individual who called himself “Old Master” in the midseason trailer. Entertainment Weekly broke the story of Darth Maul’s return with confirmation that Sam Witwer will reprise his role from Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

There’s even a new video in which Darth Maul speaks with Ezra, shedding new light on his current status quo:

Note that nearly everything that Maul told Ezra is true: The truth is a powerful weapon in the hands of the Sith. Count Dooku and Darth Sidious showed a particular talent for slightly bending the truth while attempting to recruit Obi-Wan and Anakin, respectively. Maul may no longer consider himself to be a Sith, but it seems like he’s doing the same thing here.

While speaking with EW, Rebels executive producer Dave Filoni admitted that, “I had pointed out several times in story meetings that we have an opportunity – if we wanted to – to actually have Darth Vader fight Darth Maul…But you know we were very careful that we don’t just do things because they’re cool. We want to do things that are story driven.”

It appears that the finale will primarily focus on Vader’s reunion with Ahsoka while saving the potential Vader vs. Maul fight for season 3. Darth Maul may present himself as old and feeble in his interaction with Ezra, but he’s probably pretending to be less formidable than he really is. Considering that recent episodes of Star Wars Rebels have hinted that Ezra may be fated for a fall to the Dark Side of the Force, Maul could be his new mentor next season.

You can read the entire interview with Filoni and Witwer at EW here. The second season finale of Star Wars Rebels will air on Wednesday, March 30 on Disney XD.

Are you excited about the return of Darth Maul? What do you want to see happen next? Let us know in the comment section below!

—

HT: Entertainment Weekly
Image Credit: Lucasfilm/Disney XD