The titles of Star Wars films have always provided essential insight into the tone and nature of the film itself. The Phantom Menace hinted at a sinister force lurking beneath the surface of the galactic republic, A New Hope represented the discovery Luke Skywalker and the commencement of his journey, and The Force Awakens points to the seismic shifts in the Force caused by Rey’s discovery of Luke. With such key indicators hidden in the titles of Star Wars movies, you would think that the working title for Star Wars: Episode VIII would share the same epic scale and sheer badass quality – you would be wrong.
As you can see, the photo Tweeted by consummate comedienne Carrie Fisher shows her small dog (named Gary) sitting on a director’s chair – presumably somewhere near the current production of Star Wars: Episode VIII. On the back of the chair in traditional Star Wars font is the title Space Bear: Episode VIII. As much as we would like to try and glean important details about the film from this Tweet, the fact of the matter is that the film’s working title does little other than misdirect people intent on discovering the film’s true title. Such an odd working title for a hotly anticipated movie like Episode VIII makes a great deal of sense.
It’s become a fairly common trend for entries in the franchise to operate using this method. As new report from ComicBook.com reminds us, The Force Awakens was produced reportedly produced under the name AVCO, while Star Wars: Rogue One’s working title was Lunka Heavy.
This wouldn’t be the first time a major blockbuster has maintained an outlandish working title during its production. Even a somber, serious affair like Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight was produced under the moniker Rory’s First Kiss before the official badass name was slapped onto the movie.
It goes without saying that we have become unreasonably excited for the upcoming release of Star Wars: Episode VIII – no matter what the title is. A new featurette has just hit the web to generate even more excitement about the sci-fi fantasy adventure. Check it out below.
We will bring you even more news related to Star Wars: Episode VIII as it becomes available to us. The film will continue the story that began with The Force Awakens, and will hit theaters on December 17, 2017. Stay tuned for more details.
