TheBoost said:

I got a lotta hope about the Next Generation. Look at merchandise. I was at Disneyland, and during the entire trips saw two pieces of PT merch. LEGO Star Wars shwag is almost totally OT. Angry Birds Star Wars merch is almost totally OT. Fisher Price Star Wars merch is heavily OT. In all of these cases I'll add "with the notable exeption of Darth Maul."

People complain that Maul should have been the villain throughout the PT, but if he was, Lucas would have totally mishandled him. "Killing" Maul in Episode 1 was the best thing that could have happened to the character.