Star Wars fans have strong opinions about the quality of each film in the prequel trilogy – but it turns out its cast members do, too.
The Phantom Menace, released in 1999, is considered one of the weakest films in Star Wars history due to the inclusion of Anakin Skywalker as a child, the intelligent life-forms known as Mid-Chlorians, which die-hard fans argued demystified the power of the Force, and, of course, Jar Jar Binks.
One person who didn’t like the film is Peter Serafinowicz, who voiced the film’s villain, Darth Maul. He said in a new interview: “When I saw the film, it was the biggest disappointment of my life at that point.”
When Seann Walsh, the host of Classic Clown podcast, exclaimed, “Oh my God” at his admission, Amandaland actor Serafinowicz responded: “I mean, have you seen it?”
The British star admitted that he “wasn’t that into” the character of Darth Maul, known for his spiky red face, emblazoned with black tribal tattoos. He also reflected on director George Lucas pitching Serafinowicz as “the new James Earl Jones”, who famously voiced Darth Vader.
“James Earl Jones has got the best voice of any human ever, right?” Serafinowicz said. “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, ‘F***ing hell, am I? Then why are you paying me such s*** money, George?”
While The Phantom Menace was critically maligned at its time of release, The Independent’s Louis Chilton recently argued, in celebration of its 25th anniversary, that the film is “a fascinating blockbuster” that “may be the most interesting that Star Wars has ever been”.
Nineteen years after its release, Serafinowicz recorded lines for Darth Maul’s cameo appearance in 2018 Star Wars film Solo. However, he was replaced by Sam Witwer, who voiced the character in the animated series The Clone Wars.
He returned to voice the character in 2026 spin-off series Maul – Shadow Lord, which was released on Disney+.
Witwer himself wasn’t a fan of Rian Johnson’s 2017 film Star Wars: The Last Jedi, calling it a movie “made by a guy who hadn’t quite done his homework”.
He said during a livestream on Twitch: “You can’t reinvent Star Wars without knowing Star Wars first and he didn’t, for me, make a compelling argument for why Luke wouldn’t go and help his sister.”
Witwer levelled that Johnson included “a lot of things that [I think] were compelling in a filmmaker’s point of view”, but thinks “they just didn’t fit into Star Wars”.
Serafinowicz, known for his roles in British comedy Shaun of the Dead, Marvel film Guardians of the Galaxy and US series The Tick, recently joined the cast of HBO’s Harry Potter series as Peeves the Poltergeist. It will premiere on Christmas Day 2026.
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