‘Star Wars’ Darth Vaul Voice Actor Was Told ‘You’re the New James Earl Jones’ and Thought: ‘Then Why Are You Paying Me Such S— Money, George Lucas?’

“It was weird. This character Darth Maul… I don’t know what I thought,” Serafinowicz said. “The design of it… I wasn’t that into it. When I saw the film it was the biggest disappointment of my life at that point. It really was. I mean, have you seen it? It was so exciting that even being in it .. doing this thing, what I thought would be this iconic thing. Just unimaginable.. I guess it sort of is [iconic]. I suppose.”

“James Earl Jones has got the best voice of any human ever, right?” Serafinowicz continued. “Then, suddenly there I was with George Lucas, and he was like saying, ‘Well, Peter, you’re the new James Earl Jones,’ and I was like, ‘Fucking hell, am I? Then why are you paying me such shit money, George?”

and then they cut 99% of Maul’s dialogue from the final cut

then they “killed” him off in a last minute decision (Originally he was suppose to escape)

and then they recast the voice in future projects

Yeah its sad how the people doing all the work get scraps and if they say something they get canceled!

Paid shit money to James aswell Peter. INDUSTRIAL LIGHT AND MAGIC but no money to pay voice actors.

Hopefully James Gunn and Guardians paid better for live action & lines.

“At last we’ll reveal ourselves. At last we’ll have revenge.”  Always loved that line 

I watch this movie pretty much most nights to fall asleep to , I literally can’t give you one of his lines.

Although I understand his frustration and disappointment, there was an interview where he expressed surprise that Lucasfilm never brought him back to voice Maul in Solo , choosing Sam Witwer instead.

Looking back, it seems he did ride the anti-Lucasfilm sentiment of the time and publicly criticizing the company in the process. Given that, it’s not surprising they chose not to bring him back. From what people who have worked with Lucasfilm have said, the company tends to be very loyal to those who maintain good relationships with them, even during difficult periods.

What’s interesting is that Sam Witwer is almost the complete opposite of Peter in that regard. He’s a passionate fan, a self-described geek, and has consistently given Lucasfilm the benefit of the doubt, even when parts of the fanbase were highly critical.

It makes me wonder whether things might have turned out differently if Peter had handled the situation more professionally. Perhaps Lucasfilm would have been more inclined to bring him back to voice the character and contribute to shaping Maul’s future storylines.

Instead, when most fans think of Maul today, they associate the character with both Ray Park and Sam Witwer. It’s a good reminder of why professionalism matters. Venting can feel satisfying in the moment, but sometimes it comes at the cost of relationships and opportunities that are difficult or impossible to recover.

“Because you’ll accept it.” – George Lucas.

Hard to become the next James Earl Jones when your character arc is

“Tatooine is sparsely populated. If the homing trace is correct, I will find them quickly, Master.”
“At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi. At last we will have revenge.”
“Yes, my Master.”

I’ve never understood how he was supposed to be an interesting villain. He had 34 words in the whole damn movie.

I hate actors whining about money when they are in major productions. It’s not that hard of a concept, you make less money to do the films you want to be in vs the ones they have to pay you to do. Being in a super popular movie can raise your profile like crazy.

Vigo mortensen was a guy who was in everything and you barely noticed, does Lord of the Rings for cheap money and then he gets paid big bucks to be in stuff. This is how it has always worked.

Serafinowicz is a huge talent. Love him.

Because you’re not ACTUALLY James Earl Jones.

Who the hell is Darth Vaul?

I think you mean Darth Mall. Hangs out at Cinnabon, shops at The Gap…

Ok, never mind then, we will get someone else.