I wonder why they released this now instead of the week before the opening of Episode III. I guess it might have something to do with all the Episode III merchandise and toys coming out on April 2nd.
No. Darth Maul was the biggest waste of a greatest villain ever. He had, I suppose, a mere minute and a half overall screen time before the lightsaber climax. Just tragically underused.
I guess they didn't want another cool, long standing villain who needed an overdubbed voice to be a true badass. It'd be like Vader all over again. Then Ray Park and Peter Serafinowicz could argue over who was the "real" Darth Maul.