The Darksaber's appearance in "The Mandalorian" is the weapon's live-action debut, but the blade almost appeared in a "Star Wars" movie a year and a half earlier. When Maul makes his surprise cameo at the end of "Solo: A Star Wars Story," revealing that the former Sith apprentice is the power behind the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate, he wields a double-bladed lightsaber. Actor Sam Witwer, however, had a different idea: What if Maul had carried the Darksaber instead?
See, Witwer knows Maul very, very well. While Witwer wasn't involved in "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace," where Maul first appears, he played the character in "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and "Star Wars Rebels," and provided his voice in "Solo: A Star Wars Story." So when Witwer heard that Maul would have a lightsaber in the latter movie, he made sure to ask which one. When he was told that Maul was going to be holding his "Phantom Menace" blade, Witwer pointed out that Maul didn't have that weapon anymore. He either needed to use his Inquisitor blade or the Darksaber.
Ultimately, the producers chose to use the lightsaber Maul has in "Star Wars Rebels," not the Darksaber — Maul's best known for his double blades, after all — but it's still fun to think about what might've been. Besides, if the Darksaber had appeared in "Solo," we probably wouldn't have that great "Mandalorian" moment. In the end, it all worked out for the best.
