Many players may have expected Darth Maul to make an appearance in 2019’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, but the Sith Lord was keeping busy elsewhere in the Star Wars universe, even though his whereabouts may seem mysterious in the game.
Before Jedi: Fallen Order’s release, there was strong speculation Darth Maul may make an appearance in the game. After all, he’s tangentially connected to the game's plot, part of which takes place on Dathomir. Despite this intense speculation, however, the predictions didn’t hold true, and the villain never makes a physical appearance in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Still, the character's actions remain central to the game's storyline, and many of the Jedi: Fallen Order's pivotal moments do indeed take place on Dathomir, Darth Maul’s home planet.
When Cal Kestis makes it to Dathomir in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, players are introduced to Merrin, who recounts the horror of watching her coven die in the Battle of Dathomir. She even makes specific reference to General Grievous. Merrin belonged to Mother Talzin’s Nightsisters coven at birth, a coven that used to ruled Dathomir unchallenged by the Nightbrothers, their male counterparts. Talzin is the mother of Darth Maul, yet despite this clear connection (and all of the fan speculation leading up to the game’s release) players never see him on Dathomir, or anywhere else throughout the entirety of the game. Instead, players are treated to a rather unexpected cameo from Darth Vader in one epic final boss fight.
Darth Maul's Activities During The Clone Wars
So, where was Darth Maul during these events? The next time players see him in the Star Wars timeline is during Solo: A Star Wars Movie. In his suprise cameo scene, Darth Maul summons Qi’ra via hologram, and during their conversation he mentions that he’s on Dathomir, which is presumably where she heads to after getting into her starship. Prior to his appearance in Solo, the last time Darth Maul is seen in the timeline is during The Clone Wars animated series, in which he is seen building up Crimson Dawn, Darth Maul's criminal syndicate.
During the events of Jedi: Fallen Order, the Sith Lord is likely continuing to build up the organization. At some point, probably shortly after Jedi: Fallen Order's story ended, he made his way back to Dathomir, as was shown by Solo, though how or why he returned to his home planet after so long remains unclear. Perhaps it will be revealed in future Star Wars canon what exactly Darth Maul was doing with the Crimson Dawn during the events of Jedi: Fallen Order, and if it was Cal Kestis' interference which ultimately ended up bringing him back to his home planet later on.