20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

20. Benicio Del Toro Was Supposed To Play Darth Maul

Believe it or not, before Ray Park was cast to play Darth Sideous' (Ian McDiarmid) criminally undeserved Sith apprentice Darth Maul, the role was actually supposed to go to Benicio del Toro.

However, del Toro ultimately bailed from the role after George Lucas whittled Maul's lines down to just three slivers of dialogue and six minutes of screen time.

Considering that del Toro's career enjoyed a major uptick regardless in the late 90s and early 2000s, it's hard to fault his decision - to say nothing of Maul's ultimately piecemeal treatment in The Phantom Menace.

But of course, almost two decades and an Oscar later, del Toro did eventually join the Star Wars family in earnest, memorably playing DJ in The Last Jedi.