Star Wars: the fan-made Darth Maul origin film that salvages The Phantom Menace

It contains some incredible lightsaber action

The Phantom Menace is considered by many to be the weakest of all Star Wars films, the wave of anticipation surrounding George Lucas' first return to the galactical universe in 15 years failing to live up to the finished product when it was released back in 1999.

Many would (rightly) attribute this to the inclusion of Jar Jar Binks but, while his memory looms large, it's often forgotten that the film featured one of the franchise's best villains in Darth Maul.

Fortunately, a fan named Shawn Bu agrees and has made an 18-minute short focused on the Sith Lord - and it's genuinely enthralling.

Named, Darth Maul: Apprentice, the film took German resident Bu a total of two years to make.

"We always felt that Darth Maul should have had more screen time," reads the YouTube video's biography. "So we wanted to create a film just for him with the best lightsaber fights we could do!"

The biography also states that a making of video is on its way which will no doubt show how a fan managed to make a film that is better than several Hollywood blockbusters.

Set aside 20 minutes to watch it; you'll be left wanting more.