Obi-Wan Kenobi reportedly scrapped Darth Maul plans as part of a "creative overhaul"

The Hollywood Reporter

According to The Hollywood Reporter, "not only was the Sith Lord initially slated to return to the live-action Disney+ series as a key villain, actor Ray Park was in active prep to reprise Maul," which he first played Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace. Two years ago, production paused and original writer Hossein Amini was replaced by Joby Harold because Lucasfilm was unhappy with the scripts. Turns out, director Deborah Chow had shown the scripts to Star Wars stewards Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau, who were at the time working on Season 2 of The Mandalorian after the success of Season 1. "Sources note that Filoni and Favreau were concerned about Obi-Wan covering similar ground as Mandalorian — the Lone Wolf and Cub-like story of Kenobi coming out of hiding to protect a child-aged Luke Skywalker," report The Hollywood Reporter's Borys Kit and Aaron Couch. "Maul was one of the villains who would participate in the hunt for the pair; Vader was nowhere to be found in this faraway galaxy at this stage, according to those with knowledge of the project. Also, Filoni and Favreau pushed Chow and the show to 'go bigger,' according to several sources. In any case, those concerns made their way to Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy, who pressed the pause button." A Lucasfilm source, meanwhile, says Maul was never intended to return for the series.