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Star Wars Prequels Movies

Disney's Titling Problem With Its Star Wars Movies 279

An anonymous reader writes "When George Lucas produced his Star Wars movies, he subtitled them 'Episode I,' 'Episode IV' etc. But that style will become inappropriate and confusing with Disney producing a new Star Wars movie each year, observes blogger Christopher Knight: 'Those were individual chapters of one story in an epic fantasy setting. And it suffices for that one multi-generational epic on film. Except now, there is the intent to produce several stories in that same setting. And they aren't necessarily going to pertain to the tale of the Skywalker family from Anakin to Luke to whoever it will be in the next trilogy.' Knight's solution is to retroactively amend the titles of Episodes I through IX to reflect it being the Skywalkers' saga, just as Lucas retroactively subtitled the first movie to be Episode IV."
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Disney's Titling Problem With Its Star Wars Movies

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  • Peh. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Black Parrot ( 19622 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @05:00PM (#44190809)

    They should just name them after the action figure each one is made to sell.

    • Re: Peh. (Score:4, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 04, 2013 @05:29PM (#44191047)

      You misspelled. "Pez".

    • Re:Peh. (Score:5, Funny)

      by pitchpipe ( 708843 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @05:46PM (#44191137)
      Jar Jar Strikes Back??? NOOOOOOOOOOOO...
    • Re:Peh. (Score:5, Interesting)

      by jellomizer ( 103300 ) on Friday July 05, 2013 @08:45AM (#44194095)

      Why not just drop the Episode nonsense from the movies.

      It isn't like anything you will do will stop a bunch of Raving Sci-Fi lunatics from complaining about it anyways. Even though they complain about it they are going to see it anyways.

      That said, the biggest problem with Ep I-III, wasn't the special effects or Jar-Jar, but the fact we never really liked Anakin Skywalker. Yes we knew he will go to the darkside, but I wanted a character who I didn't want to go to the Dark Side, and the transition of Jedi Knight to Sith Lord should have been a tragic one. Not
      "Oh you are the Sith Master!"
      "Yea, wanna join the Dark Side, I'll give you a cool name"
      "Sure, sounds good, let me throw Samuel L. Jackson out the window"
      "Good, your name is now Darth Vader"
      "Sweet!"

  • by anarcobra ( 1551067 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @05:08PM (#44190863)
    The movies formerly known as star wars.
  • Retroactively? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by sayfawa ( 1099071 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @05:09PM (#44190867)
    Didn't the original scrolling intro always say "episode 4"?
    • Re:Retroactively? (Score:5, Informative)

      by Caitlin Ann Patton ( 2881879 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @05:12PM (#44190907)

      Didn't the original scrolling intro always say "episode 4"?

      Not in the original showing of the film. The "Episode IV" part was added later when the film's popularity made it viable for a sequel. OR something like that.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by Animats ( 122034 )

        Didn't the original scrolling intro always say "episode 4"?

        It did when I saw the original theatrical release on opening day in1978. Seeing that go by, I thought they were showing a serial out of order by mistake.

        • Re:Retroactively? (Score:5, Informative)

          by Chris Mattern ( 191822 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @06:39PM (#44191395)

          It did when I saw the original theatrical release on opening day in1978.

          Except that Star Wars premiered in 1977. And it did not say "Episode 4" when it did. I was there, and it didn't. It did get a 1978 re-release, but "Episode IV" was not placed into the title crawl until the 1981 re-release (after The Empire Strikes Back proclaimed itself "Episode V" in its original 1980 release).

        • It's amazing how bad human memory is. Unless you had a time machine, that never happened.

        • It did when I saw the original theatrical release on opening day in1978

          Karma: Geek Cred +1

          • Re:Retroactively? (Score:5, Informative)

            by Anubis IV ( 1279820 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @11:53PM (#44192467)

            More like a reason to strip his geek card. Not only was he off by a year (opening day was May 25, 1977), but he's outright wrong or misremembering the episode number being there. They didn't add "Episode IV: A New Hope" until Empire Strikes Back came out a few years later (it wasn't even there for the 1978 re-release, which is what he may be thinking of). The original film, when first released, was simply titled "Star Wars" and nothing else. No episode numbers, no "A New Hope", no nuthin'.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Didn't the original scrolling intro always say "episode 4"?

      Nope [wikia.com], that came later.

    • The very original release just read Star Wars, from what I've seen, with the "Episode 4" added later

    • It did. The idea as Lucas originally described it in his draft (back when it was called "Journal of the Whills") was that it was like picking a book off the shelf and finding it was the fourth volume of a history series. (While he said that later, it seems more likely that it was actually more like coming into a Buck Rogers serial halfway through.) Perhaps the original poster is referring to the way it was subtitled retroactively _on_posters_. That is, until Episode I came out, it was just "Star Wars", with

      • by sjames ( 1099 )

        Why not change the title considering that he keeps changing the movie itself?

        • Re:Retroactively? (Score:5, Interesting)

          by icebike ( 68054 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @07:07PM (#44191495)

          Why change anything?

          We still reference dates with BC/AD, what wrong with negative Episode numbers, and even decimal versions if they decide to squeeze something between two others?

          Or betting yet, just let it end, and use their imagination to come up with something totally new and different rather than changing one digit in the title and slapping a brand new copyright date on the same old movie.

  • How about this (Score:5, Insightful)

    by MonkeyPaw ( 8286 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @05:09PM (#44190877) Homepage

    How about this? Stop making stupid Star Wars movies and come up with a new idea.

    • Re:How about this (Score:5, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 04, 2013 @05:17PM (#44190961)

      come up with a new idea.

      Disney? Come up with a new idea? Hahaha, oh wow, are you kidding? They've finished sucking classical childrens stories dry, and now they've moved on to modern culture, Disney hasn't had a single original idea since the ink dried on Steam Boat Willy.

      • by Billly Gates ( 198444 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @06:20PM (#44191317) Journal

        come up with a new idea.

        Disney? Come up with a new idea? Hahaha, oh wow, are you kidding? They've finished sucking classical childrens stories dry, and now they've moved on to modern culture, Disney hasn't had a single original idea since the ink dried on Steam Boat Willy.

        What are you talking about? Disney has re-innovated Star Wars quite well [youtube.com]. Just look at the new characters introduced in episode 7?

      • Disney was a cool, innovative entertainment company while Walt was alive. He was the Pixar of the mid 20th century. It was long after his death that Disney turned into the "milk parents company." Disney still churns out the occasional hit like The Lion King, but most of their releases are shamelessly accountant-driven.

        • Re:How about this (Score:5, Insightful)

          by blackraven14250 ( 902843 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @09:23PM (#44192029)
          The Lion King was substantially ripped off too, from Kimba the White Lion. What, you thought Disney actually did anything original?
          • > The Lion King was substantially ripped off too, from Kimba the White Lion.

            Twenty years from now, kids will watch the remake of the Lion King. During the climax scene, he'll be running away, and right as he's starting to get tired, he'll hear a familiar voice booming from the sky:

            "Simba! Use the Horse! THE HORSE... USE THE HORSE!"

            At that moment, the lion chasing him will start to laugh so hard, he won't be able to run. In fact, while skidding to a halt, a pebble will get thrown up into the air, and land

            • ^^^ argh. Terrible typo I missed because I was laughing so hard while I typed this. The lion CHASING him chokes to death on the pebble, and Simba discovers that Leia the Lioness is his sister.

          • So, do you dismiss Disney for creating the first color animated feature and the first movie length animated feature because it was based on an old fairy tale? Is every book adapted to film a "rip off"?

          • Re:How about this (Score:4, Informative)

            by _Shad0w_ ( 127912 ) on Friday July 05, 2013 @04:41AM (#44193263)

            Also Hamlet and Macbeth.

      • Re:How about this (Score:4, Insightful)

        by mjwx ( 966435 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @08:53PM (#44191931)

        come up with a new idea.

        Disney? Come up with a new idea? Hahaha, oh wow, are you kidding? They've finished sucking classical childrens stories dry, and now they've moved on to modern culture, Disney hasn't had a single original idea since the ink dried on Steam Boat Willy.

        This.

        Why do you think Disney supports copyright extensions/abuses with such reckless abandon?

        Because they dont want people doing to Disney what Disney did to Hans Christian Anderson.

      • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Disney hasn't had a single original idea since the ink dried on Steam Boat Willy.

        Perhaps not even then... [wikipedia.org]

      • come up with a new idea.

        Disney? Come up with a new idea? Hahaha, oh wow, are you kidding? They've finished sucking classical childrens stories dry, and now they've moved on to modern culture, Disney hasn't had a single original idea since the ink dried on Steam Boat Willy.

        Actually, Steamboat Willy was a cartoon parody of a Buster Keaton film.

      • Re:How about this (Score:5, Informative)

        by Stormwatch ( 703920 ) <rodrigogirao@noSPAM.hotmail.com> on Thursday July 04, 2013 @11:30PM (#44192409) Homepage

        Disney hasn't had a single original idea since the ink dried on Steam Boat Willy.

        Are you implying that Steamboat Willy was original? Nope! It was a parody of Buster Keaton's Steamboat Bill Jr.

    • Incidentally, I feel like I've seen more Star Wars related things since Disney took over than in the previous five years combined. The marketing power is strong with this one.
    • Great idea. Not gonna happen. They already looted our childhood fairy tales and locked them in the vaults under eternal copyright and there was nothing left for them to do except buy Lucasfilms to get Star Wars.
    • Disney paid a lot of dollaro for the rights to Star Wars. They will milk it every nickel they can. And you'll buy it! Do you hear me, you'll buy it!

    • Re:How about this (Score:5, Insightful)

      by OhANameWhatName ( 2688401 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @06:35PM (#44191373)

      come up with a new ide

      Quit living in the past. Modern film making is about certainties. If you try to come up with a new idea, what if it didn't work?

      The studios need to know precisely what's going to happen before they even try. That's why you stick with the same formula over and over again and the only new content is derived from best selling works. That way you know what's going to fail and what's going to succeed.

      Risk is not an option.

    • How about this? Stop making stupid Star Wars movies and come up with a new idea.

      I don't necessarily agree, Star Wars has a very rich universe which gives a new movie the advantage of ditching some exposition and working in a universe the viewer has an emotional connection with.

      Of course that only works if they recapture the vision and adventure of the original trilogy, I think it's possible (particularly if you pull in some of the old cast) but if they can't make it work it's probably better to leave it alone.

      • by MonkeyPaw ( 8286 )

        Of course that only works if they recapture the vision and adventure of the original trilogy,....

        ...and I could go back to being 10 years old when I first saw the movie and thought it kicked ass.

        Watching the original Star Wars now is boring. It really isn't that good of a movie. The RiffTrax version helps though.

    • How about this? Stop making stupid Star Wars movies and come up with a new idea.

      There are three durable Sci Fi franchises and geek culture would be lost without them: Dr Who, Star Trek and Star Wars.

      If the geek wants to know why HBO's audience gets Crown of Thorns and CN's DreamWorks: Dragons, he might want to look at his own fandoms --- not exactly a hotbed of original ideas.

      • There are three durable Sci Fi franchises and geek culture would be lost without them: Dr Who, Star Trek and Star Wars.

        Is Star Wars even science fiction? Lucas himself called it a "space fantasy". One might say it often feels closer to Lord of the Rings than to Star Trek.

  • by PolygamousRanchKid ( 1290638 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @05:09PM (#44190883)

    . . . you know, like A.D., as in, "Anno Disneyi" . . . ?

    . . . and BCE . . . "Before Crap Era" . . .

  • by Anonymous Coward
    Star Wars: 2015
    Star Wars The Next Generation
    Star Wars The Dark Night
    Star Wars 2: Electric Boogaloo

    Or my favorite, how about just:

    Star Wars

    but in an alternate universe. Hey it worked for Star Trek!
  • Or why not "Star Wars That Sucks" ?

  • So, we're to understand that now that they're going to produce actual episodic content, which is more in the style of old serials that the original were intended to homage, they're going to drop the episodic titling for something else?

  • I don't get it... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by lrsach01 ( 181713 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @05:23PM (#44191003)

    What's the problem? There is almost 40 YEARS of novels and they never seem to have any trouble.

    • Yeap, you have the answer, the blogger doesn't know what he's talking about; problem solved, thread closed.

      And they can always recycle the "Christmas Special." Or the cartoons. [starwars.com]
    • There can't be that many years. Because, counting forward from the...D'oh!

      • Yep, there's nothing like contemplating Star Wars' release date to make you feel old. Yes, I remember watching it when it came out--multiple times, in theaters, which I don't think I ever did with any other movie.

  • by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 04, 2013 @05:23PM (#44191005)

    So in my view the Rebel Alliance are not freedom fighters, but terrorists. Leave it to Disney to make movies celebrating horrific, terrorist acts against the forces of the democratically elected galactic government. It's sickening.

  • What else is there really to say?

    Are there even any star wars fans who care all that much how disney resolves this apparently complicated and difficult conundrum?

  • Go on and do it, do it,
    Do it 'til you're satisfied,
    Whatever it is, do it,
    Do it 'til you're satisfied.
    • by gagol ( 583737 )
      Sure Lucas is satisfied, he is laughing all the way to the online bankin website to check his account!
  • Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga: Episode IV: Con Carne y Salsa Verde

  • Maybe we can have that Spaceballs sequel, too?

    Oh, wait. That's essentially what this is.

    Of course, there's an outside chance it won't suck horribly.

  • by taxman_10m ( 41083 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @06:14PM (#44191297)

    Why should this be any different?

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Oh god I hope it's very different.

  • The naming was to make people think it was like the old Republic serials and nobody younger than Lucas is really going to get the reference any more. While I've been told this I don't really "get it" since I didn't grow up seeing those things in smoky cinemas and waiting for the "next exciting episode" to come out.
  • by PopeRatzo ( 965947 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @06:43PM (#44191409) Journal

    They could just name the last six movies, "The.Star.Wars.Saga.dvdrip.engsubs.aXX0" and I'm not sure anyone would notice.

  • And I thought "Tilting? Are they finally realizing that Star Tours doesn't really simulate motion?"

  • I've got it! (Score:4, Informative)

    by evilviper ( 135110 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @10:09PM (#44192149) Journal

    I've got the PERFECT name for the next Disney-produced Star Wars film:

    Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money

    You're welcome.

  • The secret title of every one of the new movies will be:

    Star Wars: Episode ? Now give me your money, fucktard!

  • I remember very clearly that the original release said "Episode IV"; I was enjoying Stay Puft marshmallow treats while watching the movie. Always loved those as a kid growing up in the 70s. (And wasn't JFK assassinated that week? I remember the trauma of watching that on TV a couple days after Star Wars.) Pretty sure.
    • No, it was originally just Star Wars, until it was re-released in '81. Lucas has never had a problem retconning his stuff.

  • by wonkey_monkey ( 2592601 ) on Friday July 05, 2013 @02:31AM (#44192871) Homepage

    Knight's solution is to retroactively amend the titles of Episodes I through IX to reflect it being the Skywalkers' saga

    To what?

    Episode I: Anakin Begins
    Episode II: Anakin In Love
    Episode III: Anakin Goes Bananas

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