Darth Maul impersonator.
Star Wars fan dressed up as Darth Maul during 2007 Star Wars Celebration IV in Los Angeles. Reuters

Turns out the rumors of Darth Maul's death have been greatly exaggerated.

The tattooed Sith Lord is in fact alive and kicking, in exile in the Outer Rim -- and returning to the Star Wars universe in the Cartoon Network animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Maul was last seen in Star Wars: Episode I -The Phantom Menace, when he was sliced in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi.

His short-lived experience on the big screen left Star Wars fans hungry for more of Darth Sidious' black-and-red apprentice.

He is such a dynamic and exciting character, Clone Wars supervising director Dave Filoni told USA Today. He made such a huge impression in that first film that when you go back and look at the prequels, you forget he's not in all three.

It was George Lucas himself who had the idea of bringing Darth Maul back to the Star Wars universe and giving him a place on the animated series, Entertainment Weekly reported.

It may be Star Wars, but -- how does one explain away being cut in half, but still alive?

There's a lot of ground that has not been covered as far as Darth Maul is concerned, so there's a lot of room to grow with him, Filoni told USA Today. It's all balanced with, 'Boy, we've gotta make this really good because this is a really big deal.'