Clues in the final moments of Star Wars Rebels’s most recent episode are almost certainly setting up a final — and fatal — showdown between Obi-Wan Kenobi and the cyborg and former Sith warrior Darth Maul.
“The Holocrons of Fate” once again brought the hard-to-kill Darth Maul back onto the galactic stage. At this point in the Star Wars timeline, Darth Maul has been through quite a bit since being cut in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi at the end of The Phantom Menace. Now, after a long period of hiding, Maul is back again, seeking secrets of the Sith, the Jedi, the Rebels, and pretty much anything that might help him seek vengeance against those who have wronged him.
And after joining together a Sith and Jedi Holocron, Darth Maul and Ezra have spooky visions of the future. Specifically, Maul says “I see him,” and Ezra says “Twin Suns.”
Ezra and Maul get in touch with some visions.
The twin suns are obviously a reference to the binary star system of Tatooine. But who is the “him?” It could be Luke Skywalker, the person that we know will eventually destroy the Sith. But it’s even more likely a reference to Obi-Wan Kenobi: the person Maul hates the most. As he escapes at the end of the episode, Maul is ranting to himself “He lives!” which must mean he’s learned that Obi-Wan survived the Jedi holocaust.
Because Rebels initially began roughly five years before A New Hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi is definitely in full-on hermit mode on Tatooine, sneakily watching over a young Luke Skywalker. All of this will probably lead to a duel to the death before this season of Rebels wraps up.
Obi-Wan versus Maul in the non-canon Legends story "Old Wounds"
In the 2005 anthology Star Wars: Visionaries, Dark Horse Comics published a short tale called “Old Wounds.” The story featured Darth Maul (with robotic legs) confronting Obi-Wan Kenobi near the Lars homestead on Tatooine. While this story has been technically rendered non-canon, this was the first time Darth Maul was depicted with robot-legs. This design specifically inspired the animators on The Clone Wars when Darth Maul was brought back into “real” canon in the 2012 episode “Brothers.” In the comic story, Obi-Wan eventually kills Maul with the help of Uncle Owen.
Now, with Rebels hinting that Maul may be on the warpath to find Obi-Wan Kenobi, there’s every reason to believe this final showdown will play out similarly. Only this time, the battle will come out of the shadows of legend and into the light of Obi-Wan vanquishing Darth Maul for the last time, robot legs and all.
