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Darth Maul arrives to fight
Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace
Writer: George Lucas
Director: George Lucas
Let’s stop you right now because you’re right. The lightsaber duel between Darth Maul and Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi is everything it’s cracked up to be and, from start to finish, is a reason to love Star Wars on its own. It inspired new fans and captivated old ones in 1999 and has only grown in stature as subsequent generations of fans discover it. There is much to love. John William’s “Duel of the Fates” score that ran underneath it was its own sensation before the movie even arrived in theaters. It was a smash single complete with a video in rotation on MTV. The horns, the chorus, and the strings reached out and grabbed you. Fans were humming it before the movie even came out. Darth Maul, that vengeance-filled blunt weapon of Palpatine, brought us his double-sided lightsaber and a growling visage designed to haunt us all. As foretold in the infamous Episode I soundtrack spoiler debacle, Qui-Gon Jinn would tragically lose his life 4 and Obi-Wan Kenobi would avenge him. It was truly a duel for the ages, featuring warriors at the top of their game. But it all begins with one hell of an entrance and an unforgettable preamble that spoke directly to fans of all ages.
When talking about the reasons we love Star Wars, we can look at full sequences and entire scenes but sometimes one image, one line, or one beat transcends the complete moment it is part of. For all of the action centering around Darth Maul, and the combat skills of Ray Park, it is the image Maul’s arrival to the fight that has stayed with fans. The Battle of Naboo had begun and Padmé, Panaka, and the volunteer forces of Naboo are on the move from the main hangar on Theed, when the double-doors open up to reveal Darth Maul. Black robe, red and black face, burning evil eyes, and that look that freezes them all. No one makes a move. No blasters fire. Maul slowly looks up at his stunned enemies. That is the true image of Maul and his true introduction.
We had already been introduced to him by this point, yes. We’d even seen him in action. But this is the moment that the character of Darth Maul steps into the spotlight and demands we never forget him. “Duel of the Fates” starts playing and it almost appears as if Maul is hearing that music in his own mind. He’s been waiting for this moment. Given over to Palpatine as a boy, he has been forged into this conduit of hate. He is a weapon finally unsheathed.
On the other side stand two Jedi. The heroes of the galaxy. Though they had a prior run-in with Maul on Tatooine, he was just a striking shadow then. They suspected his origins, but, now, as he stands before them, they know. For the first time in a thousand years, the Jedi would knowingly face off with the Sith. How do they respond to this momentous occasion? With a calm, cool, collected declaration from Qui-Gon, “We’ll handle this.”
The fight hasn’t even begun, but the table is set and the story in place. The diametrically opposed beliefs are present. The stakes have been raised. And we’re about to have a big showdown. This, my friends, is Star Wars.
This grand entrance and glorious beginning to this duel of the fates almost comes off as deliciously meta and self-referencing. As if the movie was paying homage to an entire generation of fans and the ones to come by telling us that we are about to witness the type of lightsaber fight we’ve been having with our friends, our toys, and even by ourselves for years. You know when you grabbed your Darth Vader action figure and dreamed up the biggest fight you could imagine? Well, here you go, that fight was about to become a reality.
The Naboo forces leave. Queen Amidala’s underrated comedic response (“We’ll take the long way”) sends them off and we’re ready for the lightsabers to come out. Maul, Qui-Gon, and Obi-Wan literally get ready to fight, playing to the moment and the music. The robes come off and you can almost hear the ring bell toll. Round one is here. The fight is on. So, yes, we could celebrate the entire fight from this point on. It was the Star Wars version of a Wrestlemania main event. However, go to the moment when the combatants enter the ring, and everything sets the tone for the most electrifying fight we had never seen—yet always wanted.