Warning: There are major spoilers ahead for "Solo: A Star Wars Story."
There are a few returning actors from the "Star Wars" franchise you may recognize in "Solo: A Star Wars Story."
But the spin-off leaves its biggest return for the movie's final minutes.
This is your last chance to head back before spoilers.
Near the movie's end, Emilia Clarke's Qi'ra betrays Crimson Dawn leader, Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany), killing him. It looks like she's about to run off into the sunset with her old flame, Han (Alden Ehrenreich), but then she shows her true colors.
Instead of hightailing it with Han and Chewie to go on their own missions to save the galaxy, Qi'ra has her own agenda. She makes a quick call and a robed figure shows up on a hologram.
When he finally drops his hood, he's revealed to be Darth Maul, the villain from the end of "Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace."
It's clear that Qi'ra is working with him.
If you've only watched the "Star Wars" movies, his return probably shocked you.
How is that possible? He was cut in half!
Yes, Maul met a seemingly gruesome end in "Phantom Menace." After Maul killed Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) finishes the fight by slicing him brutally in half. (We recommend watching the full duel here.)
But it turns out, he's a tough guy to kill.
"Star Wars" fans who have watched animated series "Star Wars: Rebels" and "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" won't be as surprised to see Maul back.
It was hinted the character survived his gruesome fate on Naboo on season three, episode 14 of "The Clone Wars," written by "Star Wars" creator George Lucas' daughter, Katie.
At the end of the next season, we learn what became of Darth Maul. He wound up on the planet Lotho Minor and stayed there losing his mind in exile for a decade until he was found by his brother, Savage Opress.
When we saw Maul again, he looked a bit different.
Yeah, that's Maul.
He looks like an insect here with six legs that he assembled out of junk. When Savage brought his brother back to his home planet of Dathomir, he was reborn and given replacement limbs by his biological mother, Mother Talzin.
When Maul's mind is fixed, he's hellbent on getting revenge on Kenobi and reveals that the only thing that kept him alive after the events of "The Phantom Menace" were holding onto his hatred.
"My hatred kept my spirit intact even though my body was not," Maul recounts to his brother. "I was apprentice to the most powerful being in the galaxy once. I was destined to become so much more, but I was robbed of that destiny by the Jedi, by Obi-Wan Kenobi."
You can watch Maul's return to the "Star Wars" universe on the two-part season four finale of "The Clone Wars."
Wait. When do these animated series with Maul take place in the "Star Wars" universe?
The six season series "The Clone Wars" takes place between "Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones" and "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith." In other words, after "The Phantom Menace" where Maul was sliced in half.
Animated series "Star Wars Rebels" takes place between "Solo" and "Rogue One." So the Maul we're looking at now is the one from Rebels, if the films decide to follow that storyline at all.
But are these even considered canon?
Yes.
"The Clone Wars" series ran for six seasons from 2008 until 2015. "Rebels" ran for four seasons starting in 2014. Disney purchased Lucsafilm in late 2012. "Rebels" was the first new "Star Wars" series released after Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm.
While much of the expanded "Star Wars" universe was no longer considered canon after the purchase, both of the animated series, along with an animated "Clone Wars" movie, are considered canon along with all of the "Star Wars" movies in the Skywalker saga.
Why Maul's return is even sweeter — the men who played the character returned as well
Ray Park, who played Maul in "Phantom Menace," is listed in the credits as reprising his role in "Solo." But it's not just Park who returned to bring back Maul.
Maul never spoke in 1999's "Phantom Menace." When he appeared again in the "Star Wars" universe on "The Clone Wars," he was voiced by Sam Witwer. If you thought Maul sounded familiar, that's because Witwer once again is voicing the character in "Solo." Pretty cool.
What Maul's return to the franchise means for future "Star Wars" movies — expect to see more of him and maybe more iconic characters
Alden Ehrenreich, who plays the younger Solo, has said he's signed on for three "Solo" movies. If so, it seems likely they’ll continue Maul’s story teased at the end of "Solo" and introduce a few other familiar characters he runs into on the animated series.
Maul's fate is left open-ended again in "The Clone Wars." He has a run-in with Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine and watches as Sidious kills his brother, Savage. Sidious tortures Maul, but leaves him alive suggesting he has plans for him.
In the scene, we see Maul fight Sidious with a Darksaber, an ancient weapon which is hinted at in "Rogue One" when Jyn Erso reads a list of project names held by the Empire.
Maul appears again on the second season of newer animated series, "Rebels." That's important to note because "Rebels" is the first "Star Wars" show Disney releases after acquiring Lucasfilm, making it part of official canon.
On "Rebels," Maul spends his time seeking revenge on popular "Star Wars" characters, including Darth Sidious and, naturally, Obi-Wan Kenobi. (He just can't let that leg thing go.) He has another big battle eventually with Kenobi while he's in exile on Tattooine watching over a young Luke Skywalker.
Ewan McGregor has expressed interest in returning for a movie centered around Kenobi and one is reportedly in the pipeline. It wouldn't be bizarre to see him on screen again since he's a big character in animated series "Rebels" and you almost certainly can't have Maul's return without including Kenobi.
It's also worth noting that earlier on "The Clone Wars" series, Maul was also the leader of a criminal organization called the Shadow Collective, made up of a few other groups. The Shadow Collective has the support of crime families including Jabba the Hutt's clan.
Why that's important: Think back to the end of "Solo"
In "Solo," Qi'ra is part of a crime syndicate known as Crimson Dawn. By the movie's end, it's revealed she's part of something larger run in part by Maul.
It's not clear from Maul's small appearance in "Solo" whether or not we're seeing a version of him solely from "Rebels" where he and Qi'ra are both working for Sidious or if the movies will take a different turn and either combine a version of him seen on both animated "The Clone Wars" and "Rebels" or go their own route.
You can follow along with our coverage of "Solo" here.
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