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Sam Witwer has returned as the dangerously compelling Darth Maul in Star Wars – Maul: Shadow Lord. Set shortly after Revenge of the Sith, Maul is eager to rebuild his criminal syndicate on Janix, a planet seemingly untouched by the Empire. However, before Witwer stepped into Maul’s spidery prosthetic, he played a very different (but equally gravelly-voiced) character known as Galen Marek, aka Starkiller.
Growing up as a fan of Star Wars pre-Disney meant that, when creator George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney in 2015, there was a period of mourning over the decannonization of certain stories in a galaxy far, far away. One such story was that of Starkiller.
Starkiller — introduced in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (2008) and returning to Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 (2010) on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 — is Galen Marek, a Force-sensitive man who was abducted by Darth Vader at a young age and raised to embrace the dark side of the Force. While certainly a popular Legends character, Starkiller, like many pre-Disney Star Wars characters such as Darth Talon, was effectively written out of canon as though he didn’t exist.
Alongside Darth Revan, Starkiller is easily one of the Legends characters that fans have long wanted to be brought into canon. They almost got their wish back when Star Wars: Rebels aired, with Starkiller planned to be introduced as one of Vader’s Inquisitors, Force-sensitive killers trained to hunt Jedi. That plan ultimately fell through.
However, when Polygon asked whether Witwer would ever return to that character if Lucasfilm asked, the answer was a resounding yes.
“I would shave my head in an instant. Very happy to do so,” Witwer tells Polygon. “I love that character, and he’s really the reason I’m here.”
As for who would win in a fight between his two characters, Maul versus Starkiller, Witwer clarified who he thought the overall champion would be.
“If they fought? I am very clear that the winner would be me.”
Witwer’s time as Starkiller remains iconic, with fans still discussing his character and the possibility he might eventually make the jump from Legends to canon. Whether Lucasfilm will make that jump remains unknown, but if they do, Witwer is primed and ready to go.
The first two episodes of Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord are available now on Disney Plus. New episodes will be released weekly on Mondays through May 4.