I wouldn't hold out too much hope for a Solo dovetail. It's 10 episodes of a show that's apparently very serialized and focused, set years prior to that movie. Indeed, between the article and the trailer, it seems like the whole story my be entierly bound to this one planet, which feels like a first for Star Wars!
Indeed, with the presence of the Inquisitor from TotJ, it probably can't be any more than two years post Order-66, since that's about when the Ahsoka novel places those events.* That also seems to line up with it being after Bad Batch, as evidenced by the appearance of TK troopers, and Type-1 ISDs, which only showed up in the very final episode, and about two years feels right for the duration of that show too.
* Yes I know there are major discrepancies when it comes to the details of the novel vs the short, but the essencial concept is the same in both, so the timing has to be at least roughly the same.
It’s a shame Rebels ruins the ending. I would have liked going in thinking he could one day face off against Luke.
If he did, then Luke would probably have died. Maul was a Sith assassin, a practiced and bloodied killer trained from infancy. When it comes to his sabre skills, Luke was a rank amateur by comparison. He (barely) survived his first "battle" with Vader because he wasn't actually trying to kill him, but to capture or covert him. He only bested Vader in his second battle by giving into the dark side in a way that was almost the end of him. And he only survived Sidious by finally reaching the flickering light of Anakin that still shone within the black abyss that was Vader. Martial skills were not the deciding factor (which was kinda the whole point!)
If Maul ever encountered Luke during the OT and had a mind to kill him, they he would have done so with barely a backward glance.
It does for me a bit. Maybe they’ll pull a twist and say that was a clone or something.
You do know that by this logic, the original movies spoiled the end of the prequels, right? No to mention Clone Wars, Andor, and basically anything involving these characters set prior to those events.
Most people sit down to watch these later movies and shows already knowing when and how Obi-Wan, Yoda, Anakin, and Palpatine all die. Hell, Obi-Wan didn't even make it out alive from the second act of the very first movie. Does that spoil the story of his relationship with his Master, and how he trained some random slave boy they picked up on a backwater out of a sense of obligation? Of how he came to view the boy as a brother and a true friend, only to be forced to cut him down for his betrayal? Does that spoil the "what could have been" romance with Satine? Or the vendetta with Maul?
Obviously not. There's more to a story than how it ends.
