Some STAR WARS: EPISODE VII Title Rumors

Now that we have a majority of the casting announcements out of the way for Star Wars: Episode VII, I suppose it is time to turn our attention to rumors about possible titles. We’ve already had one such rumor make the rounds back in October which asserted that either Return Of The Sith and Rise Of The Jedi were to be the film’s title. Well, now we have a new contender – The Ancient Fear.

The word comes from one of the foundations of internet film reportage Harry Knowles at Ain’t It Cool News who is claiming that he has received confirmation from two sources that Episode VII has been given that subtitle. To be honest, AintItCool is probably not the go-to site it once was, but Knowles has been a Star Wars fan first and foremost so I think we may put some stock into this story. And on its face, The Ancient Fear does echo the other trilogy opening subtitles – The Phantom Menace and A New Hope – which lends some credence as well.

I am sure that we will be hearing more possible titles before they get around to make an official announceent.

In the meantime though, there is also a rumor floating around about the title that the film may be shooting under. The British-based Bleeding Cool is reporting that no matter what subtitle director JJ Abrams attaches to the film, it will be shot with the alternate title of Avco. This wouldn’t be the first time that a Star Wars film shot under a false title, with Return Of The Jedi famously shooting as Blue Harvest.

Why Avco? Bleeding Cool provided the following answer –

[N]amed after the Los Angeles cinema that showed a certain film back in 1977. They were one of only four cinemas who fitted Lucasfilm’s THX sound system for the film. And it was the cinema that the young JJ Abrams first saw the movie.

“I remember seeing an early concept poster by Ralph McQuarrie for the movie. It stuck in my head even though I didn’t know what it was — but it looked important. My second memory is actually seeing it in the theater on opening day in Westwood at Avco Theater and never being the same again.”