Ever wonder if the Star Wars movies had the wrong titles? One fan did and provided alternate titles. Read on to find out what every film could have been called instead.
Every Star Wars Film Has the Wrong Title
The video posted on this Reddit discussion board suggests that every Star Wars movie has the wrong title and provides a correct one instead. Let’s review each one and see how much sense it would make to change the titles.
1. The Phantom Menace should instead be called the Rise of Skywalker because this is when audiences meet Anakin. That makes sense because the movie does focus on young Anakin. Yet, it also centers on Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi and the unfolding plot against the Republic.
2. Attack of the Clones could be swapped out for Revenge of the Sith. This alternate title derives from how Palpatine, as “leader of the Sith,” forged “an army to destroy the Jedi.” True. That would work, but this movie is more about the “renegade” Count Dooku and his leading role in the Separatist crisis.
3. Instead of Revenge of the Sith for Episode 3, we could have had Attack of the Clones since Order 66 has the clones attacking the Jedi. However, we could equally say that the film is about the rise of Palpatine, which may have been due to “luck and timely coincidences” more than master planning. So, maybe the movie should be The Lucky Rise of Palpatine. No, it doesn’t have the same effect–the original name probably works best.
4. In A New Hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi teaches Luke that the time has come for the Jedi to return. Hence, the original movie should be called Return of the Jedi. In this scene and others, Obi-Wan tells Luke about the force and the time of the Jedi. The title change could make sense. Yet, it would miss the hope given to the Rebellion when Luke blows up the Death Star.
5. In Empire Strikes Back, Yoda “teaches Luke how to use the Force,” so this film could be The Force Awakens. Yes, but Luke leaves his training early and is defeated by Vader. With Han frozen, Luke with his hand and lightsaber, and the “Rebels’ debilitating defeat,” the Empire clearly comes out on top in this movie. That denouement makes it hard to imagine another title.
6. Since both Yoda and Anakin/Vader die in Return of the Jedi, it may be more appropriate to call Episode 6 The Last Jedi. This premise is probably the most sound one because Luke appears to be the last Jedi standing. Then again, we get hints about Leia that make us wonder if other Jedi are out there too.
7 With Episode 7: The Force Awakens, we encounter the rise of the First Order, or “a new empire,” making this movie better called The Empire Strikes Back. This title change could work, or one like The Empire Returns. And yet, the Empire and First Order are not synonymous.
A big difference, as this article captures, is that “the First Order stands against a governing body, while the Galactic Empire was the governing body.” They both have Palpatine behind them, but he ruled the First Order through Snoke and “its own rebel movement” that contrasted with the tidy bureaucracy of the Empire.
8. By Episode 8: The Last Jedi, Luke trains Rey to be a Jedi and “sacrifices himself” to give the Resistance “A New Hope.” We may be tempted to switch the original movie’s name for that of the second sequel. But then we would not have the lore that surrounds A New Hope and would have had to wait until Luke completes “his iconic character arc” in this second-to-last film.
9. And, in the last of the sequels, The Rise of Skywalker, Palpatine returns after appearing to die in the Return of the Jedi. Based on his return, we may prefer to call the last movie “The Phantom Menace.” The Emperor looks ghastly and ghostly in this movie and is a menace to the Resistance since he should have already died. This title change seems fitting.