The Entire Darth Maul Story Finally Explained

Maul's power grab on Mandalore isn't just about building a criminal empire. After Mother Talzin's demise, the former Darth returns to the planet with one very specific goal: stick it to Sidious by killing Anakin Skywalker and disrupting the Sith lord's plans for a galactic takeover.

Maul's plan is pretty simple. When he returns to Mandalore, Maul assumes that Bo-Katan Kryze, the sister of Mandalore's murdered leader, will turn to the Jedi for help ousting Maul's regime. Given Obi-Wan Kenobi's close personal connection to the planet (he had a thing with Mandalor's former Duchess, Satine), Maul figures that he'd be the one to answer the call — and if Obi-Wan's around, chances are high that Anakin isn't far behind.

But Sidious' plans move even faster than Maul expects, and Obi-Wan and Anakin are too busy with the final stages of the Clone Wars to come to Mandalore's rescue. Instead, the Jedi send Anakin's former padawan, the ex-Jedi Ahsoka Tano, and an army of clone soldiers to take on Maul's forces. During the following siege, Ahsoka and Maul trade lightsaber blows in one of the best duels in Star Wars history before Ahsoka wins the battle and takes Maul prisoner. 

At long last, Mandalore is free of Maul's control, although not before the ex-Sith drops one big bombshell: As they fight, Maul tells Ahsoka that Sidious has been grooming Anakin as his new apprentice. The problem? Ahsoka doesn't believe him and decides not to warn the Jedi Council about Anakin's potential duplicity. We all know how that turned out.