Disney Star Wars’ most epic lightsaber duel was worth the long, six-year wait. Lightsaber duels are a cornerstone of Star Wars’ worldbuilding and franchise appeal; each battle has a different meaning, a distinct style, showcasing the best of both the light side and the dark, the Jedi and the Sith. Some of Star Wars’ best lightsaber duels have even reverberated throughout the galaxy’s timeline, influencing future events and changing certain characters’ fates forever.
While Darth Vader has (for obvious reasons) been involved in many of the franchise’s most memorable duels, the resurrected Darth Maul has been just as impactful, if not even more so, fighting against everyone from Qui-Gon Jinn to Obi-Wan Kenobi to Asajj Ventress to Vader to the Inquisitors to Darth Sidious and Anakin Skywalker’s apprentice, Ahsoka Tano. While all of Star Wars’ lightsaber battles are engaging to watch, few are as meaningful as the one between Maul and Ahsoka in the seventh and final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
It took six years for The Clone Wars to receive a proper conclusion after Disney abruptly canceled the show in 2014, but it was worth it. The final season on Disney+ not only acted as a decisive end to George Lucas’ prequel-era saga, but it bridged the gap for both Ahsoka Tano’s and Darth Maul’s stories between The Clone Wars and its successor series, Star Wars Rebels, cementing them both as two of the most important characters in the franchise with what is arguably Disney Star Wars’ most impressive lightsaber duel.
Ahsoka vs. Maul Is The Best Duel In Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Ahsoka Tano battling Darth Maul on Mandalore in Star Wars The Clone Wars
Whether Ahsoka vs. Maul is the best duel in all of Star Wars is up for debate, but it’s certainly the most epic duel of Disney’s reign, and by far the best duel in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The greatest lightsaber duels in Star Wars are those that have genuine emotional reasoning behind them. In The Clone Wars season 7, episode 10, “The Phantom Apprentice,” Maul is driven by his fear of Sidious and Anakin’s impending turn to the dark side. Ahsoka wants to protect Anakin and Mandalore as a whole, as the Clone Wars conflict hurtles towards its tragic end.
Essentially, they’re both fighting for the same thing — neither, of course, wants the mysterious Sith Lord in the shadows to win; Maul wants vengeance, and Ahsoka wants to see the Jedi and the Republic succeed. Still, they’re destined to view each other as enemies, blinded by their respective pasts and their relationships to their old Masters. When Ahsoka refuses Maul’s offer to join him (after calling him a liar for telling her about Anakin’s destiny), their battle commences, as the pair engage in one of the most beautifully choreographed lightsaber duels in Star Wars‘ animated history.
Fun fact: Darth Maul’s original actor, Scottish stuntman and martial artist Ray Park, did the motion capture for their fight, making everything more realistic and in keeping with Maul’s original style. There’s a grounded feel to Ahsoka and Maul’s duel, even as they transition from Mandalore’s throne room to the terrifyingly high, single-beam rafters outside. This isn’t Darth Sidious flipping around his office with abandon. Their personalities shine through every move, especially when Ahsoka calls back her lightsaber with the Force and Maul twists in the air to avoid its blade.
At no point is it truly clear who the victor will be. After all, when The Clone Wars season 7 was released in 2020, both characters were already confirmed to live well into the early days of the Rebellion, coming face to face once more in the Star Wars Rebels season 2 finale. The push and pull between Ahsoka and Maul in this duel is masterful. The ending, too, is one of the most chilling moments in Star Wars, as Maul pleads with Ahsoka to end his life. He knows what’s coming better than anyone, and he feels powerless to stop it.
Ahsoka & Maul Have Become Two Of Star Wars’ Most Important Characters
In the aftermath of their duel, Ahsoka is not only forced to let Maul go to help her escape the devastation of Order 66, a perfect example of the thin line between enemy and ally, but they’re also set up to become two of Star Wars‘ most important characters. Since The Clone Wars season 7, both Ahsoka and Maul have become fixtures of Star Wars’ storytelling.
A Long Time Ago · In a Galaxy Far, Far Away The Sith Trivia Challenge
⚔Dark LordsUnlimited power
⚡PowerForce lightning
📘LoreHolocrons
🗡BetrayalAlways two
🌈LegacyThe dark side
01
The Sith operate under a strict doctrine that limits their number to prevent infighting and self-destruction. This ancient code dictates that there can only be a master and an apprentice — no more, no less. What is this fundamental Sith principle called?
✓ Correct! The Rule of Two states “Always two there are — no more, no less. A master and an apprentice.” As Yoda himself observed, this principle ensured the Sith could operate in secret for a millennium while plotting the downfall of the Jedi Order.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is the Rule of Two. While the Sith Code exists separately as their philosophical creed, the Rule of Two is the specific doctrine limiting Sith to a master-apprentice pair. It allowed them to hide in the shadows for a thousand years.
02
The most powerful Sith Lord in the saga hid in plain sight as a seemingly benevolent politician, secretly manipulating the Clone Wars from both sides. He orchestrated the fall of the Republic and the destruction of the Jedi Order. Who is this ultimate Sith Master?
✓ Correct! Darth Sidious, publicly known as Senator and later Emperor Palpatine, is the mastermind behind everything. He engineered the Clone Wars, executed Order 66, turned Anakin Skywalker to the dark side, and ruled the galaxy as Emperor for over two decades. Ian McDiarmid’s portrayal is iconic.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is Darth Sidious, also known as Emperor Palpatine. Darth Vader was his apprentice, Darth Tyranus (Count Dooku) was a pawn, and Darth Plagueis was his former master. Sidious was the puppet master who destroyed the Republic from within.
03
Once the most promising Jedi Knight in the Order, this Chosen One was seduced to the dark side by Palpatine’s promise of saving his wife from death. After his devastating duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafar, he was rebuilt in a black life-support suit. Which Sith Lord is this?
✓ Correct! Darth Vader, born Anakin Skywalker, is the tragic heart of the Star Wars saga. His fall from heroic Jedi to Sith enforcer — and his ultimate redemption when he saves his son Luke by destroying the Emperor — is one of cinema’s greatest character arcs.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is Darth Vader. Darth Maul was Sidious’s first apprentice, Darth Revan is from the Old Republic era, and Darth Bane created the Rule of Two. Only Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader after his fall on Mustafar.
04
This fearsome, red-and-black-tattooed Zabrak wielded a double-bladed lightsaber and killed Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace. Though cut in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi, he survived through sheer hatred and returned with mechanical legs. Who is this relentless Sith assassin?
✓ Correct! Darth Maul was Palpatine’s first known apprentice, a weapon of pure rage trained from childhood. His survival after being bisected — fueled entirely by hatred for Obi-Wan — led to his expanded story in The Clone Wars and Rebels, where he became one of Star Wars’ most compelling villains.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is Darth Maul. Savage Opress was Maul’s brother, Asajj Ventress was Dooku’s dark side assassin, and the Grand Inquisitor served the Empire. Only Maul wielded the iconic double-bladed saber and killed Qui-Gon Jinn in that legendary duel.
05
This elegant former Jedi Master left the Order and became Sidious’s second apprentice, taking the Sith name Darth Tyranus. A master of Form II lightsaber combat with a curved-hilt saber, he led the Separatist movement. Played by Christopher Lee, who is this aristocratic Sith Lord?
✓ Correct! Count Dooku, Darth Tyranus, was the political face of the Separatist movement and a pawn in Sidious’s grand plan. A former student of Yoda himself, Dooku’s elegant fencing style and aristocratic demeanor made him unique among the Sith. Palpatine ordered Anakin to execute him in Revenge of the Sith.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is Count Dooku, also known as Darth Tyranus. Mace Windu was a Jedi Master, Qui-Gon was Obi-Wan’s master killed by Maul, and General Grievous was a cyborg commander but not Force-sensitive. Dooku was the fallen Jedi who became Sidious’s Sith apprentice.
06
Approximately a thousand years before the events of the saga, one ancient Sith Lord recognized that the Sith kept destroying themselves through infighting. He wiped out the existing Sith Order and established the Rule of Two, ensuring the dark side would be passed from master to apprentice in secret. Who created this doctrine?
✓ Correct! Darth Bane, who appeared as a Force ghost in The Clone Wars, was the visionary who realized the Sith’s numbers were their weakness. By limiting them to two, he ensured each generation would be stronger than the last — a chain that ultimately led to Palpatine’s galaxy-conquering scheme a millennium later.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is Darth Bane. Darth Revan was a legendary Sith from the Old Republic, Darth Nihilus consumed entire planets through the Force, and Darth Malgus led the Sith Empire. But it was Bane who created the Rule of Two that shaped all Sith to follow.
07
In the sequel trilogy, the grandson of Darth Vader was seduced to the dark side by Supreme Leader Snoke. He wielded an unstable, crossguard lightsaber with a cracked kyber crystal and killed his own father, Han Solo, in The Force Awakens. Who is this conflicted dark side warrior?
✓ Correct! Kylo Ren, born Ben Solo to Han Solo and Leia Organa, was torn between the light and dark throughout the sequel trilogy. His worship of his grandfather Vader’s legacy and his crackling crossguard saber made him visually iconic. Like Vader before him, he ultimately found redemption, sacrificing himself to save Rey.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is Kylo Ren, born Ben Solo. Snoke was his dark side mentor (later revealed as a Palpatine puppet), General Hux was a First Order officer, and Darth Revan existed thousands of years earlier. Kylo Ren carried the Skywalker bloodline’s burden into the sequel era.
08
In one of the saga’s most chilling scenes, Palpatine tells Anakin the “Tragedy” of a Sith Lord so powerful he could use the Force to influence midi-chlorians to create life and prevent death. His apprentice killed him in his sleep. Who is this legendary Sith whose tale tempted Anakin to the dark side?
✓ Correct! “Did you ever hear the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?” is one of the most meme-worthy and narratively crucial lines in Star Wars. Plagueis was Palpatine’s own master, and the irony is thick — Palpatine tells Anakin the story as bait, having murdered Plagueis himself. It’s not a story the Jedi would tell you.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is Darth Plagueis the Wise. Darth Bane created the Rule of Two centuries earlier, Darth Vitiate ruled the Old Republic Sith Empire, and Darth Sion was sustained by pain. Plagueis could cheat death itself — ironic, since he couldn’t save himself from his own apprentice, Palpatine.
Trial Complete Your Dark Side Record
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Are you a Sith Lord — or just another youngling?
Ahsoka has had her official live-action debut, starring not only in The Mandalorian but in her very own self-titled series. Maul, meanwhile, has returned in Dave Filoni’s animated Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, one of the best character studies Star Wars has ever produced (and it features an incredible, long-awaited showdown between Maul and Darth Vader). Over the years, they’ve both grown into the galaxy’s most complex characters, representations of what it means to be neither Jedi nor Sith in a galaxy that’s always been defined by the division between light and dark.
Both Maul and Ahsoka will return to the small screen in the galaxy far, far away. Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord was renewed for a second season before the first had even premiered on Disney+, and Ahsoka season 2 has been confirmed for its long-overdue debut in 2027, as Star Wars celebrates the franchise’s landmark 50th anniversary. It’s an exciting time to be a fan of these two characters, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Star Wars as a whole. Let’s hope there are many more epic lightsaber duels to come.
All episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars are streaming now on Disney+.
Release Date
2008 – 2020-00-00
Network
Cartoon Network, Netflix, Disney+
Directors
Brian Kalin O’Connell, Steward Lee, Giancarlo Volpe, Bosco Ng, Danny Keller, Rob Coleman, Justin Ridge, Nathaniel Villanueva, Saul Ruiz, Jesse Yeh, Duwayne Dunham, Atsushi Takeuchi, Robert Dalva, Walter Murch
Writers
Katie Lucas, Christian Taylor, Brent V. Friedman, Matt Michnovetz, Drew Z. Greenberg, Steven Melching, Chris Collins, Charles Murray, Eoghan Mahony, Bonnie Mark, Craig W. Van Sickle, Daniel Arkin, Jose Molina, Steven Long Mitchell, Cameron Litvack, George Krstic, Carl Ellsworth, Craig Titley, Julie Siege, Jonathan W. Rinzler, Ben Edlund, Douglas Petrie, Kevin D. Campbell, Kevin Rubio
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