'Star Wars Episode 7' Plot, News, Characters & Release Date: Is 'The Force Awakens' the Worst Franchise Title Yet?
Fans of the "Star Wars" enterprise were over the moon on Thursday, Nov. 6, when its official Twitter page posted a tweet notifying its 957,000 followers that principal photography has finally concluded at Pinewood Studios in London, with a placard of the ostensibly authorized title: "Stars Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens." According to several sources, the film will pick up 30 years after the events of "Return of the Jedi."
Gossip spread through the grapevine earlier in the year, when fan sites like Ain't It Cool News erroneously reported that the upcoming film's authorized title had been confirmed as "The Ancient Fear."
Disney and Lucasfilm also announced J.J. Abrams' much-anticipated film would receive its U.S. theatrical release on Dec. 18, 2015, a decade after the last film in the original six-movie series, "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith," which was released in 2005.
Like all sequels, the bar has been raised high. It should also be noted that every film in the franchise, with the exclusion of "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones," has been the No. 1 film of the year at the box office, according to CNN.
USA Today reports that the title "hints at the beginning of a fresh set of stories while also referencing a major theme of the first Star Wars movie: the mightiness of the Force, the quasi-spiritual power that connects everything in the universe and is harnessed by heroic Jedi and evil Sith alike."
However, there have been mixed reactions already to the film, with viewers and media alike having a discussion about slightly irreverent title.
Meanwhike, Eric Geller, a writer for "Star Wars" fan site TheForce.net, actually favors the title.
"Awakens is a great verb and it's a perfect metaphor for the franchise right now," he says. "To most of the world, Star Wars has been dormant since 2005. I like the image of the franchise as a sleeping behemoth that is about to be unleashed on the world."
Geller continued by saying that the titles remind him how the Force is its own character.
"It's also significant that this is the only title so far to use the word 'force,'" he explained, noting that, alongside 1980's "The Empire Strikes Back," it is only one of two films in the franchise with an active verb construction.
No doubt, the Internet trolls had their share of making fun of the film's title, creating a #rejectedStarWarstitles meme on Twitter. Publications joined in, too.
"The one thing we can all agree on is it beats the hell out of 'The Phantom Menace,'" Entertainment Weekly film writer Anthony Breznican quipped.
Others came from a more sociological stance, looking at zeitgeist 'cool hunting' of today's marketing companies in Hollywood.
Mike Ryan, a writer for Screencrush.com, said the title make sense in modern times, given the fact that recent blockbuster movies often have the words "rise," "rising," or "dark," "darkness" and "dawn" as the designation. This of course includes the influence left by Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight Trilogy" and Michael Bay's "Transformers" saga.
Ryan also noted that the current title of the seventh film ranks as the second-worst title in the franchise, stating that the subtitle given the original 1977 Stars Wars" film "A New Hope" lacked character.
"I mean, at least 'The Phantom Menace' is kind of interesting," he said with a snarky jibe.
However, this shouldn't ward off any of the film's true fans.
"'No movie sequel is better than 'The Empire Strikes Back.' You might eat those words for Xmas dinner in 2015. Joy & Indigestion to the world!" said Anthony Daniels, who played C-3PO in original six "Star Wars" films and its computer-animated spin-off The Clone Wars.
Daniels reprises his signature role in the upcoming film.
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