Isn’t the simple name “Episode VII” already appetizing enough to get butts in seats? Apparently, franchise consistency says no.
According to Latino-Review.com, a trusted source when it comes to spilling geek property rumors, George Lucas’s story treatments for the next trilogy of films in the Star Wars saga sold to Disney included two tentative subtitles: Rise of the Jedi and Return of the Sith. This follows recent news of Lucas’s son, Jett, confirming that his father was working on the film’s story sometime before the Disney-Lucasfilm acquisition, and that he trusts director J.J. Abrams’s team will handle it well. Given that the film will take place after the events of Return of the Jedi, the sixth film in the series’s chronology, the titles are in line with the Expanded Universe ideas of the Jedi Order being reformed or the Sith taking shape once again. However, it has been made clear that Michael Arndt’s screenplay will be an original story and not adhere to the three-decades’s worth of material. Episode VII is scheduled to film early next year and is slated for a 2015 release.
To be frank, these titles aren’t the best or most creative in the world, but let’s see if we can nail down which one would be the most fitting in terms of staying power. Rise of the Jedi comes off as confusingly redundant seeing how the Jedi had officially “returned” in the previous film, and the fact that this and Return of the Jedi are technically neighboring films in the series makes putting them next to each other a bit of an eyesore. Conversely, Return of the Sith may recall too much of Return of the Jedi, but it has a nice ironic touch to it that adds more impact to the eternal struggle of the Jedi and the Sith. The Sith first defeated the Jedi and remained in control of the galaxy for quite some time, but then the tables turned later on and the Jedi came back to restore balance. Presuming that some more time has passed since their victory, it would be more foreboding to have the Sith not exact revenge, but to return once more. That’s my take, anyway, so feel free to call me out on finding too much justification for an admittedly unoriginal title. But hey, I’ve been a Star Wars fan since birth, so what can you do?
What do you guys think? Which of these two titles is the best in your opinion? Do you think you can come up with a better one? Post your thoughts in the comments below.
