We are still eighteen long months away from “Star Wars: Episode 7” landing in theatres, and there is much more news to come. While we now know a good chunk of the official cast, there is still more to come, and though fans were hoping for some additional information this past Star Wars Day, all they got was greeting from director J.J. Abrams and writer Lawrence Kasdan. One of the biggest questions about the upcoming sequel—aside from the actual plot—is what the title might be. And today comes a rumor about what it might be.
The folks over at AICN are reporting that the working title—note, not yet the official title—is “Star Wars: Episode 7 — The Ancient Fear.” Apparently, the title refers to “Max Von Sydow‘s villain who makes Pazuzu [the evil spirit that possesses Regan in ‘The Exorcist‘] look like a pussy!” So wait, Sydow is a villain? That was our first guess, though we’d love for him to play against type in this one.
A quick scroll through the comments section over at the site reveals a lot of instant opinions about what may not even be the final name, but if it’s true, it has a similar feeling to “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace,” for better or worse. And it should be noted, back in 2004 AICN said the title of “Star Wars: Episode III” would be called “The Creeping Fear“ and look how that turned out. So buyer beware.
Anyway, AICN apparently tried to get folks in the Abrams camp to comment on the rumor to no avail, so we’ll see how this plays out. Again, it might be something they’re just toying with at the moment, so don’t get too attached to the name. “Star Wars: Episode 7” will arrive on December 18, 2015. Until then, here’s Disney honcho Bob Iger hanging out with Chewbecca.
Update: Were the reports that said the “Star Wars” Expanded Universe would be ditched in the new series overstated? Latino Review are hinting they were. “Don’t be surprised when Expanded Universe characters are revealed in the days and weeks to come,” they write. I guess we’ll see soon enough.
