Ray Park took the stage on April 17 at the Anaheim Convention Center and spoke about his as one of the most famous Sith Lords within all of Star Wars.
[dropcap size=small]R[/dropcap]ay Park entered the stage at the Anaheim Convention Center amid a series of loud applause and cheering. Not surprising, considering that the man has a huge fan base for his many roles in popular films, such as Toad in X-Men, Edgar in Heroes, Snake Eyes in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and of course Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.
When asked by James Arnold Taylor what his favorite role was, out of all the films he has acted in, Ray Parker was unable to answer. Instead, he said that he enjoyed all of the characters he’s played but went on to explain that he wouldn’t be where he is now if it wasn’t for Darth Maul.
Park spent several minutes discussing how he spent the majority of his childhood practicing martial arts and the different forms he studied. James Arnold Taylor (Johnny Test, Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: The Clone Wars) brought up how Ray Park spent some time practicing ballet and for a brief moment he delighted the audience in a display of his ballet technique before returning to his seat. From here Ray Park discussed how his background in Wushu, a specialized martial arts style, helped him land his role as Darth Maul. He even showed off a few moves of his own while discussing how George Lucas and himself came up with the idea for the double-bladed lightsaber.
After a while, the Q&A began and he was asked many questions from several loyal fans. One fan in particular asked, “It’s really awesome that Disney has taken over Star Wars and given us standalone films. So could you do us all a favor and your people call the people at Disney and make a Darth Maul standalone film?”
After a thunderous round of applause for the question, Ray Park was quick to answer,
“I would love to be disciplined, like not eat anything for four months, and be shredded and do the whole tattoo body effect like you see in the comics and the novels. I would love to do that! If Darth Maul was coming back, he should be topless, tattooed, bigger horns, robotic legs. I would love to do it!”
It seems that Ray Park has a keen idea of what Darth Maul could look like if he were to return. His idea matches up with Darth Maul’s appearance in the animated series known as Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Unfortunately, at this time Disney has not announced any plans to make additional movies aside from the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Who knows, maybe if Ray Park’s people are persuasive enough with Disney there could be a new hope for a Darth Maul standalone film.
