Original Darth Maul Voice Actor Peter Serafinowicz Says ‘The Phantom Menace’ Was the Biggest Disappointment of His Life, Paycheck Included

When ‘Star Wars: The Phantom Menace‘ arrived in theaters in 1999, it carried the weight of an entire generation’s anticipation, since George Lucas was returning to the franchise after a sixteen-year hiatus that had built unprecedented global anticipation for the saga’s return. Much of the marketing leaned on a striking new villain, the double bladed Sith Lord known as Darth Maul. Few fans back then had any idea how the actor behind that voice, Peter Serafinowicz, actually felt about the finished film.

Ray Park handled Maul’s physical performance, all the acrobatics and lightsaber choreography that made the character such a visual standout, while Serafinowicz provided the voice as the character became a fixture spanning multiple corners of the franchise. The pairing turned Maul into one of the most recognizable Sith Lords in ‘Star Wars’ history, even though his screen time in that first film was famously brief. For more than two decades, Serafinowicz mostly kept his personal feelings about the role to himself.

That changed when he sat down for Seann Walsh’s ‘Classic Clown‘ podcast. Serafinowicz admitted he wasn’t particularly drawn to the character’s design once he saw the finished product, and he described watching the completed film as the biggest disappointment of his life at that point.

He went further, recounting the moment George Lucas pitched him as the new James Earl Jones, the actor famous for voicing Darth Vader. “James Earl Jones has got the best voice of any human ever, right? 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 sh*t money, George?” Serafinowicz said.

That frustration over pay may help explain why his time as Maul stayed limited to just one film, since Serafinowicz’s stint as the character ended up being a one and done affair. He did return years later to record dialogue for Maul’s brief appearance in ‘Solo,’ but those lines were ultimately scrapped in favor of Sam Witwer, who had already taken over the character in ‘The Clone Wars’.

Witwer has remained the voice of Maul ever since, carrying the role into the 2026 Disney+ series ‘Maul, Shadow Lord,’ which follows the former Sith Lord plotting to rebuild his criminal syndicate on a planet untouched by the Empire. The show found enough of an audience that Lucasfilm confirmed a second season before the first season even premiered.

None of that softens how ‘The Phantom Menace’ performed commercially, since it grossed roughly 924 million dollars worldwide during its original theatrical run and became the highest grossing film of that year. It is a strange legacy for Serafinowicz, watching the role he once called his life’s biggest letdown turn into one of the most enduring characters in the franchise.

With Maul more beloved than ever thanks to Witwer’s take, it might be worth asking longtime fans whether the original, underpaid voice behind that double bladed lightsaber deserves more credit for making the character work in the first place.