The Sith Lords of the Star Wars Universe all have a distinct look that makes them appear sinister and powerful at the same time. However, it seems like Darth Maul holds the distinction of being the one villain who actually terrified George Lucas while Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was in its early stages. Interestingly, the original design for Maul may have been way too scary for Lucas.
StarWars.com covered an expansive oral history on The Phantom Menace where the people behind the film discussed how it came to be. Iain McCaig, who served as the concept artist for the movie, revealed that Darth Maul was initially described in the script as "a vision from your worst nightmare" and so that was what he created.
Here's McCaig's first Darth Maul design:
Luckily, the artist didn't have to reach too far to come up with a second design. McCaig finally nailed it when he thought of the next scariest thing for him.
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Yep, this is definitely closer to the final design that ended up in the film. McCaig also admitted that he had originally drawn feathers on Darth Maul but it was mistaken for horns.
What do you think of Darth Maul's original design? Sound off in the comments below.