We saw him in the trailer, but Dave Filoni never openly confirmed that that was Darth Maul who said, “Call me … Old Master.” But now in an article over at Entertainment Weekly, the curtain has been fully pulled back, as Dave Filoni and Sam Witwer talk about bringing back the iconic character, and we even get to see some new images and a clip featuring Ezra and Maul!

You can check out the new clip and images below, as well as a portion of the interview with Dave Filoni and Sam Witwer from Entertainment Weekly:
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Entertainment Weekly: Dave, this is the second time you’ve resurrected Maul after The Clone Wars. What made you decide it was time to introduce him to the Rebels storyline?
Dave Filoni: The genesis of this idea is actually kind of an interesting one. I had pointed out several times in story meetings that we have an opportunity – if we wanted to – to actually have Darth Vader fight Darth Maul. That was something that [co-producer] Simon Kinberg and I were like, ‘Oooh…’ Then there was the opponent in the story meetings who would say, ‘Well, that’s fan service,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah – exactly.’ [Laughs] I don’t see the problem with that, but you know we were very careful that we don’t just do things because they’re cool. We want to do things that are story driven.

Entertainment Weekly: So we can expect those two to lock lightsabers?
Dave Filoni: I have to say that by the end of it, the story was completely different than where we had started. I don’t want to necessarily promise something that doesn’t happen – the Vader/Maul thing is interesting at a fandom level. [But] the more compelling personal story becomes about Ahsoka and Vader.

Entertainment Weekly: Sam, you voiced Darth Maul in The Clone Wars too, so I wondered what your thoughts were about reprising him as a much older and… I don’t know, would you say “wiser” being?
Sam Witwer: I don’t know if I would say wiser. [Laughs] It’s fun to wonder how much of what we’re seeing from Darth Maul in this episode is him becoming more eccentric and older and wiser but also a little more frayed, versus what’s play-acting. You know what I mean?

So he’s putting up a front even after all these years?
Sam Witwer: What is just a lie in terms of his behavior and what is actually the truth? People were commenting when we were recording the episode that they’d never seen a sincere, sweet Darth Maul [Laughs]. You know kind of a sweet, old man. To lie that convincingly, he has to understand the emotions he’s hitting. And in order to understand them, he must possess them in some degree. So in order to portray that level of sincerity, there’s got be some piece of him that is actually sincere.

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How amazing is this season finale looking?! While we knew he was going to play a factor, seeing that clip and reading what Dave and Sam had to say about Maul just makes this story so much more fascinating.

Be sure to check out the full interview with Dave Filoni and Sam Witwer over at Entertainment Weekly.