'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' Revives Darth Maul

Darth Maul is dead. I saw that man die. "The Phantom Menace" has played no fewer than 10 times in my life, and countless more times in the lives of your other friendly neighborhood Movies Blog writers as well. The tattooed, spike-studded, dual-lightsaber-wielding Sith apprentice was cleaved in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi by movie's end, and our hopes for continued Maul awesomeness died with him. Or so we thought. George Lucas has once again defied expectations by breathing life back into Darth Maul's lungs. Entertainment Weekly reports that the Sith menace is being resurrected in the new season of "Clone Wars," though the exact how's and why's remain murky. Luckily, that's what you have us for. After the jump, check out the Movies team's best guesses as to how Darth Maul could possibly still be alive. Stitch The Sith We're talking about a George Lucas creation here. It's not surprising that Darth Maul is coming back, it's surprising that it took him so long to do so. What's a teeny thing like being cut in half by a lightsaber and falling into a bottomless pit when you have the Emperor on your side? I'm sure all it took was a few Force lightning stitches to get the Zabrak Sith Lord as good as new. -Terri Schwartz, MTV Movies contributing writer Blood Magic With Maul's body ruined beyond repair, the dark lords of the Sith are forced to turn to ancient and evil magics, far more sinister than the Force. A sacrifice of 100 slaves is made, and their blood runs into a massive pool. From the corpses of 100 doomed souls rises a new and more menacing Maul than ever before. Guys, let's face it: blood magic is awesome. -Brian Phares, MTV Movies contributing writer Obey Your Thirst It's obvious, isn't it? When Obi-Wan cut Darth Maul in half with Qui-Gon's lightsaber, the blade immediately cauterized the wound, keeping all of his vital organs intact and held inside. Granted, the tumble into the bottomless pit couldn't have been a pleasant experience, but George Lucas, Maul's true master, was waiting at the bottom with a can of Sprite and a hot bowl of soup to nurse him back to health and sustain him for later economic exploitation. This is literally the only explanation I'll believe. -Kevin Sullivan, MTV Movies editorial assistant The Real Answer To riff on an old friend's famous line no! It's not true! It's impossible! -Josh Wigler, MTV Movies Blog editor Tell us what you think of Darth Maul's resurrection in the comments and on Twitter!