Star Wars actor takes aim at George Lucas, calls the film one of his biggest disappointments

Here’s one for the Star Wars trivia night crowd: Peter Serafinowicz, the bloke who originally voiced Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace, has finally opened up about what a letdown the whole experience actually was. Considering how much reverence most actors have for even sniffing the Skywalker universe, his honesty is almost refreshing, although probably not what George Lucas was hoping for.

Not Quite the Sith Experience He Was Sold

Serafinowicz, who lent his voice to the horned terror back in 1999, recently chatted on the Classic Clown podcast and, well, he didn’t sugarcoat things. For starters: he wasn’t wowed by Darth Maul's infamous look. He admitted that, at the time, he felt it was 'weird,' and that the character design didn’t really grab him. Apparently, he expected something altogether different – and not in a good way.

This is the bit that stuck out:

'When I saw the film it was the biggest disappointment of my life at that point. It really was. I mean, have you seen it? It was so exciting that even being in it… doing this thing, what I thought would be this iconic thing. Just unimaginable. I guess it sort of is [iconic]. I suppose.'

So even actually being Darth Maul didn’t make up for how underwhelming Serafinowicz thought it all was, film and all.

George Lucas: The Hype Man...with a Budget

George Lucas apparently tried to get Serafinowicz in the spirit by comparing him to James Earl Jones – no small compliment, since that’s the man behind Darth Vader’s legendary pipes. Serafinowicz, ever the realist (and, frankly, who could blame him), reckoned that was just a wild bit of showmanship. His reaction was pretty blunt:

'James Earl Jones has got the best voice of any human ever, right? Then, suddenly there I was with George Lucas, and he was like saying, "Well, Peter, you’re the new James Earl Jones," and I was like, "F***ing hell, am I? Then why are you paying me such s*** money, George?"'

Darth Maul: Behind the Red Facepaint

The actual design process for Darth Maul wasn’t exactly a masterplan, either. Iain McCaig, the concept artist responsible, once said Lucas basically told him, 'Darth Maul, he’s our new Sith Lord,' then wandered off without so much as a scribbled note. McCaig had to guess if Maul was even meant to be human. He started by trying to top Darth Vader’s intimidating helmet (no luck there), sketched a 'circuit board' motif, then dialled everything back to those slashing red and black tattoos.

Worth mentioning: it took poor Ray Park (the chap actually in all the acrobatic fight scenes) up to three hours in the makeup chair every day just to become the guy Serafinowicz now calls a letdown.

Aftermath: From Iconic Villain to Sideline

In hindsight, Serafinowicz agrees that Darth Maul has become pretty iconic, popping up in various bits of Star Wars media – two films, three animated series, basically a fan-favourite by now. But fun fact: after The Phantom Menace, it wasn’t Serafinowicz doing the voice any more. That job went to Sam Witwer for the Clone Wars and Rebels cartoons, and for continuity’s sake, Witwer got tapped again for Maul’s cameo in Solo: A Star Wars Story. So Serafinowicz never got to revisit his own take on the role.

• 1999: The Phantom Menace – Ray Park plays Maul, Serafinowicz provides the voice
• Post-1999: Animated shows (Clone Wars, Rebels) – Sam Witwer on voice duties
• 2018: Solo: A Star Wars Story – Ray Park returns in person, Sam Witwer again on the voice

Bottom line: the bloke who helped make Darth Maul terrifying felt let down by it all, while the Star Wars machine just kept going with a new voice behind the facepaint. Make of it what you will.