Peter Serafinowicz did not like Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace when he watched it at the premiere.
“Biggest Disappointment”
The 53-year-old actor, who voiced the villain Darth Maul, was excited to be cast in the film. However, he was deeply disappointed, feeling it did not live up to the franchise’s other movies.
Appearing on the latest episode of 40-year-old comic Seann Walsh’s Class Clown podcast, Peter admitted, “When I saw the film, I thought it was the biggest disappointment of my life at that point.”
After Seann exclaimed, “Oh my God”, Peter replied, “I mean, have you seen it?”
The entertainer was “delighted” to have been in a Star Wars film. However, he was not a fan of his character, Darth Maul, one of the most terrifying Sith Lords in the galaxy, with his spiky red face and black tribal markings.
Peter said, “I don’t know what I thought of this guy, the design of it. I wasn’t that into it.”
The “New James Earl Jones”
But one highlight from creating the first flick in the prequel trilogy was when director George Lucas, 82, declared him “the new James Earl Jones,” who voiced Darth Vader.
Peter recalled, “James Earl Jones, he’s got the best voice of any human ever, right? And then suddenly, there I was with George Lucas, and he was saying, ‘Well, Peter, you’re the new James Earl Jones.'”
“And I was like, ‘F****** hell, am I? Then why are you paying me such s*** money then, George?'”
Opinion on The Phantom Menace
In 2024, Peter told how he shared his opinion of The Phantom Menace with his co-star Lewis MacLeod (Sebulba). He also talked to his 56-year-old pal, actor and Star Wars nerd Simon Pegg.
Peter is quoted by Yahoo! as saying, “I had to get some quarters and call them from a phone box in Manhattan, and I said to Lewis, ‘I’m so sorry, but it’s rubbish, it’s really bad.'”
“I had to ring Simon Pegg as well, we’d just become friends and I was working with him on Spaced, he was desperate to know as he was going to see it in a couple of days, and I was like, ‘Dude, it’s a load of s***.'”
Reprising His Role
Almost 20 years after The Phantom Menace’s release, Peter recorded lines as Darth Maul for 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story. He was ultimately replaced by 48-year-old Sam Witwer.
Sam also voiced the character in The Clone Wars animated series, Star Wars Rebels, and Disney+’s Maul – Shadow Lord.