Star Wars Rebels Just Got Us Super Pumped For Obi Wan Kenobi's Battle With Darth Maul

Now that Star Wars films are regularly making big budget appearances in movie theaters these days, one might think that fans would feel less need to keep up with the fictional universe's animated offerings. But fans know that would be a ridiculous concept, as Star Wars Rebels is aces when it comes to expanding the universe, and increasingly so when it comes to giving audiences iconic moments. The video below, for instance, will instantly get you revved up and howling for the second battle between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul. Check it out!

Before getting into anything involving the story or the history of these characters and how badass they look, we have to first draw all of our attention to those final moments, when Darth Maul breaks through all sound barriers with that throat-scraping "Kenobi!" scream. There's a sick and evil desperation going on there, and I would blindly think that waking up to that disembodied scream in the middle of the night would be more frightening than actually waking up to Darth Maul in my room. [shivers]

Yes, so aside from the guttural howling that will serve as the doorbell to my hell house, this Star Wars Rebels preview is extremely exciting, even with such a limited runtime. But then why would it take longer than 15 seconds to boost the blood flow for such an epic Star Wars fight? This is a match 18 years in the making, at least when it comes to viewers. It's been longer for Kenobi and Maul in actual years.

As one of the only good things about Phantom Menace, Darth Maul should have been a character that stuck around, but in perfect line with everything else about that movie, he gets sliced in half by Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi and then never came back in live-action. Getting him back into the mix for Star Wars Rebels was awesome, and his storyline has been pretty great thus far, as he's been trying to get Ezra to be an apprentice, as Maul was to Darth Sidious, but no dice. Both Ezra and Maul are interested in finding Obi-Wan, and it looks like even if Darth Maul didn't find him first, he found him...worst. Or something.

It'll be great to see an older iteration of Obi-Wan Kenobi again, even if it's in animated form. And while we're sure he'll have other memorable moments sprinkled throughout, watching him face off against the wily and dangerous Darth Maul almost makes up for him getting killed off in A New Hope. No, not really. Nothing will ever make that good.

Star Wars Rebels, which has been making enjoyable game-changing moves since it began, airs Saturday nights on Disney XD at 8:30 p.m. ET, and the big duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul is set to go down on for the episode on March 18, titled "Twin Suns." While waiting, starting thinking about what stories you want to see in Season 4 and use the Force to pull up our midseason premiere schedule, which will clue you in on everything heading to the small screen in the near future.

Nick Venable
Assistant Managing Editor

Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper.  Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.