The project given the working title of Maul was a cancelled Star Wars Legends video game developed by Red Fly Studio.
Taking place more than 170 years after the Invasion of Naboo and the Clone Wars, Darth Maul finds himself in the era of Legacy. After meeting Darth Talon, the duo teams up to fight against the Sith.
Maul went through loads of Development Hell. In 2010, LucasArts contacted Red Fly about making a Darth Maul game, but with the lack of details given, they thought about telling his origin story and ending it with his death at the end of The Phantom Menace until they were told that Maul had survived, though this was not explained until 2012, when The Clone Wars explored his return. By then, however, the team behind the game had just pulled a plot together but, alas, the project was cancelled in 2011 from both sudden lack of communication between the studio and LucasArts, as well as LucasArts's inaction to sign documents to allow major developments to truly go underway, topped off by Disney's acquisition of the franchise.
As of October 2015, Red Fly is still continuing to work on Maul and possibly retooling it, hoping to propose it to Electronic Arts and/or Disney.
Tropes in this cancelled project include:
- Call-Back: Maul would've used a DRK-1 probe droid (or presumably a successor to the series), like in The Phantom Menace. It would've provided the HUD for the player.
- Continuity Snarl: It really didn't help that there was a lack of communication between Red Fly and George Lucas, so they basically threw in whatever they thought was good.
- For an unknown reason, Talon is helping Maul take down Krayt and the One Sith, despite having loyalties to Krayt and to some extent, the One Sith. Though one could take it as they're trying to take out a rival sect, since members of the One Sith typically are given red and black tattoos all over their body, while this group doesn't.
- The Stormtrooper designs don't quite match how they looked in Legacy.
- "The Sith Emperor" also bears heavy resemblance to Krayt, but is also missing some features, so it's possible they aren't the same character either.
- Someone from Red Fly suggested that Maul would want to destroy the One Sith for violating the Rule of Two, but in The Clone Wars, it has been shown that Maul no longer cares about what the Sith do (bar Sidious, but only because It's Personal). It could still be possible that he wants to strike against the One Sith for another reason.
- As the game was cancelled before it got to the point in The Clone Wars where Savage and Pre Vizsla (assuming he's one of the Death Watch soldiers in promotional art) die as well as the fracturing of Death Watch, it would appear that Savage, Vizsla, and Death Watch were supposed to show up like none of that happened.
- All of this ignores that Maul was killed by Vader in a 2001 comic set around A New Hope, with his resurrected brain being shut down for good by Luke shortly after.
- Similarly, the Legacy-era Jedi seem to be fine, when they were actually fugitives again in the comics.
- Darker and Edgier: For starters, in concept art, Maul and Talon throw their lightsabers at opponents, causing those who get caught in it to be explicitly sliced in half.
- Eyepatch of Power: Gareth Lorca of the Jedi has a scar running up his face and an eyepatch over his left eye.
- Evil Versus Evil: Maul and co. versus the main Sith group and possibly the Empire. Death Watch and possibly Savage are involved in this conflict somewhere, but how exactly
is probably best not to think about too hard. - Expy: Darth Inexor is another multiple armed cyborg that can wield multiple lightsabers at once. Except unlike General Grievous, he can use the Force.
- Hero Antagonist: Naturally, it's the Jedi.
- Morality Pet: According to this video
, George Lucas's suggested that Darth Talon act as one for Maul. Lucas supposedly compared Maul's characterisation to Santino "Sonny" Corleone from The Godfather, hinting that Talon would placate his temperamental, violent impulses. She would also have taught Maul basic social skills, presumably to make him a more innocent, endearing character. Because those are things Darth Talon is excellent at. - Pink Is Feminine: Darth Nix's lightsaber is pink.
- Purple Is Powerful: Darth VaGhal's lightsaber is purple.
- Stripperific: Darth Talon, Darth Nix, Darth VaGhal.
- Shout-Out: Nexus Wan's name is one to Blade Runner.
- Villain Protagonist: Maul, helped by Talon and his sidekick, a DRK-1.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Concept art for Maul's alternative outfits include going without a shirt, which is also seen in gameplay footage.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Savage Opress and Death Watch are seen on promotional art. Unlike Maul, their appearances are never explained.
- Wretched Hive: One of the locations in the game is the Coruscant Underworld.
