We've only had one live-action movie in the form of Star Wars: The Force Awakens from Disney since the company purchased all of Lucasfilm in 2012. They have been plenty busy putting out lots of other Star Wars content though, namely a ton of great comic books. Up next? Fan favorite character and prequel trilogy bright spot Darth Maul will be getting his own series.

The news comes courtesy of USA Today who reveal that the five-issue prequel mini-series, titled Star Wars: Darth Maul, will debut in February. The series is being written by Cullen Bunn, whose previous credits in the comic book world include Uncanny X-Men and The Sixth Gun. Luke Ross is set to do the art for the book, which will be released by Marvel Comics in the new year. Here is how the series is described in the report.

"The comic finds Maul an untested warrior under the training of Darth Sidious, who would later become the Galactic Emperor. Told to stand down from engaging with Jedi yet, Maul hunts down the worst of the worst in the cosmic underworld to vent his frustration. After learning a young Jedi Padawan named Eldra Kaitis has fallen into the hands of a crime lord, Maul seizes an opportunity to test his skills against a real Jedi but also maybe turn someone else to the dark side."

Darth Maul first appeared in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. That movie is easily the most hated among the seven entries in the Star Wars saga to date. But even though he had very little screen time, Darth Maul has become one of the most beloved parts of the prequels. One might argue outside of Darth Vader, he is maybe the most popular villain in the Star Wars universe, save for maybe Boba Fett, if you count him as a villain. Sadly, the character was "killed" by Obi-Wan at the end of the movie, so he wasn't able to make any further appearances in the prequel movies.

The character has been revived in several comic books when Dark Horse had the rights to the Star Wars franchise, but those books aren't part of the new Star Wars canon. So, Marvel bringing Darth Maul back into the comic book canon and exploring his early days as a Sith Lord in training is a good way to gain favor with fans. The character has also appeared in both the Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels animated series, which explained how the character actually lived on after the events of Phantom Menace. It's entirely possible that he could be revived in a live-action movie as well.

Cullen Bunn told USA Today that in Star Wars: Darth Maul he will be "seeding where that impatience and anger comes from," and that "a big part of the story is Darth Maul's descent to the dark side and almost being tempted away from it." There is hope from fans that we may someday get to see Darth Maul back on the big screen, which is possible now that Disney is in control. Maybe a rematch between him and Obi-Wan on Tatooine? For now, this new comic book series looks like it could be the next best thing. Be sure to look out for Star Wars: Darth Maul this February.

Darth Maul Comic Book cover