Lucasfilm has confirmed the name of the new Star Wars movie. In a tweet that went out from @StarWars, the Disney subsidiary said that principal photography has been completed for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” That means, basically, that CGI and other short shots are yet to be done, but the major live shots are all finished.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens has completed principal photography. #StarWarsVII #TheForceAwakens pic.twitter.com/mFTP9YbKNN
— Star Wars (@starwars) November 6, 2014
That clears up some confusion from earlier this year, when Harry Knowles, a movie blogger who owns “Ain’t It Cool News” said that the working title for the new Star Wars movie would be “The Ancient Fear.” #TheForceAwakens has already seen 17,000 tweets go out in the past couple hours, according to Topsy and is trending in the United States.
I have awoken this morning to a stirring in the Force… #TheForceAwakens @starwars — James Arnold Taylor (@JATactor) November 6, 2014
But it wasn’t a dream! And you, and you, and you, and you were there… #TheForceAwakens pic.twitter.com/OKbvtUKuCI
— Inside the Magic (@InsideTheMagic) November 6, 2014
The Force Awakens: Morning Wood of the Jedi #TheForceAwakens — Lou Brutus (@LouBrutus) November 6, 2014
Many were also unimpressed with the lacklustre title, deciding to parody it.
Star Wars Ep VII: The Jedi Awakens Star Wars Ep VIII: The Jedi Shaves and Has a Shower Star Wars Ep IX: God I Need a Coffee #starwars — FriedPuppyDog (@friedpuppydog) November 6, 2014
Others had some fun with Photoshop and turned it into a meme.
That IS a weird Star Wars title. pic.twitter.com/5D5ucqXC12
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) November 6, 2014
ok may have to go see this pic.twitter.com/BtdlWOIYot
— darth™ (@darth) November 6, 2014
Then came the brands.
would rather watch this tbh pic.twitter.com/Hl47g5L67f
— Denny's (@DennysDiner) November 6, 2014
The ‘Star Wars’ franchise is almost as well known for its marketing as for its movies. As the Hollywood Reporter put it, the franchise is “the most successful Hollywood marketing franchise in history.” It has extended from licensing — mini Yodas, light sabers and online games like Star Wars: The Old Republic — to offshoots like Cartoon Network’s “Clone Wars.”
And then there’s the co-branding: Lego’s Star Wars video games, Volkswagen’s unforgettable mini-Darth Vader Super Bowl ad “The Force,” and more. This year, the NPD Group reported that Star Wars is one of the top five toy properties in the country, along with Disney Princess, Barbie, Nerf and Lego.
That, despite the fact that the last movie came out almost a decade earlier, in 2005.
The new movie will be directed by J.J. Abrams, known for work on Star Trek, and will be set about 30 years post- “Return of the Jedi.” It is set to open Dec. 18, 2015.
More in Marketing
TikTok’s ad network bet: More reach, more budget
TikTok wants to become a bigger part of advertisers’ media budgets by selling inventory beyond its own app.
OpenAI moves to make ChatGPT Ads more measurable — and more visual
OpenAI is adding a new format, measurement tools and brand suitability testing as it looks to attract bigger budgets.
‘The future is going to be in real life”: IRL events are becoming the new proof point for creator marketing
Plenty of creators are making the same bet, and until recently most of them were the biggest names in the business.