Simplify the following text for a Grade 7 native English-speaking person.
Original: Though little about about Maul 's history is supplied in The Phantom Menace , the lore of Star Wars literature prior to The Clone Wars attempted to provide a backstory for the character .
Simplified: The character first appeared in the movie Star Wars Episode I : The Phantom Menace in 1999 . Darth Maul has also been in many books set in the time period just before the Clone Wars .