NeverarGreat said:

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.

It's almost like an oxymoron, yet it's completely accurate. Maul's introduction was handled relatively well in TPM. He was mysterious, a badass, and the visual embodiment of his role. But if George decided to extend his role into AOTC and ROTS, he would have stripped away the mystery and come up with equally contrived plot elements as are already present in those films.