Star Wars: Episode IX is currently in production and won't hit theaters until December 2019, but that hasn't stopped fans from trying to predict its mysterious title. Ever since being acquired by Disney in 2012, Lucasfilm is renowned for the level of secrecy surrounding their projects. In an effort to maintain all of the surprises and twists for a film's premiere, the studio goes to great lengths to keep details under lock and key. Even the trailers are edited in such a way they only provide hints of what the actual story is about, selling audiences more on the essence and tone.
With that in mind, it isn't surprising the official title for Episode IX remains guarded, even though the film is about a year away from debuting. Solo marketing aside, there's a method to Lucasfilm's madness, and they generally have a good idea of how to promote their tentpoles. All of the pertinent information will be revealed in due time, yet fans can't help but speculate how things will turn out. In this space, we're going to take a stab at predicting the Star Wars 9 title. We cannot stress enough that this is a prediction and our suggestion is merely a launching point for future discussion.
What A Star Wars Title Needs To Be
Before we get into our prediction, we're going to take a look back at the history of Star Wars titles. In keeping with the property's pulpy space opera influences, the names of the movies are relatively straightforward and essentially sum up the larger themes of the plot. A New Hope alluded to Luke Skywalker's emergence as a Jedi trainee. The Empire Strikes Back blatantly told viewers the Imperials would pummel the Rebellion in the sequel. This tradition continued in the modern era of the films; The Force Awakens literally references the Force awakening within Rey (it could also apply to Kylo Ren's further descent to the dark side) and The Last Jedi made it clear the film would largely be about Luke.
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Even the standalone anthologies, which had the leeway to experiment with different tones and genres, didn't stray far from this formula. Both Rogue One and Solo spotlight their titular figures - the former being the Rebel team that stole the Death Star plans, and the latter being the younger Han Solo. As fun as it might be for a Star Wars movie to break away from tradition and receive a more ambiguous or enigmatic title, there's no need for that approach. Lucasfilm isn't making Reservoir Dogs here. A Star Wars title should be simple, effective, and clearly state the thesis for the film. Fans will still debate its true meaning, but things should be clear as soon as Lucasfilm announces it.
Star Wars 9 Title Fan Theories
One of the Internet's favorite pastimes is theorizing about Star Wars, and even with The Last Jedi subverting just about every expectation viewers had, speculation for Episode IX still runs rampant. Similar to Marvel fans trying to nail down the Avengers 4 title before Endgame was announced via the trailer, Star Wars enthusiasts are hard at work in an attempt to figure out the Episode IX title before the official unveiling. As always, there are some silly suggestions (most of which involve Jar Jar Binks), but a couple are grounded in plausible evidence.
Many fans were quick to point out how the Episode VIII title, The Last Jedi, was part of The Force Awakens' opening text crawl. This led some to read over Last Jedi's own crawl to see what phrases fit. Admittedly, possibilities there are slim, but people have mentioned Spark of Hope as a potential title, building off of Luke's heroic sacrifice at the end of the previous film. John Boyega has mentioned Episode IX will feature an "all-out war" as the conflict between the Resistance and First Order heats up, with the heroes obviously galvanized by Skywalker's actions. Similarly, others suggest The Last Hope, which connects to Episode IX allegedly being the final installment of this classic saga. Lucasfilm will certainly want to play up the finality of the film in marketing, though there are other ways to do that than to hint at the end with the title.
Page 2: Our Star Wars 9 Title Prediction
The Title Will Include One Star Wars Word
Star Wars titles are self-referential in the fact that they almost always include a term that's largely associated with the overarching franchise. The Empire Strikes Back. Return of the Jedi. Attack of the Clones (the Clone Wars were first mentioned in the original film). Revenge of the Sith. This continues to be true in the Disney era, as evidenced by The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. It can also be applied to the spinoffs; Rogue One can be traced back to the original trilogy (the Rebels flew as Rogue group on Hoth) and Solo is, of course, the name of one of the property's most popular characters. With the exception of A New Hope (and even there, the word "hope" is an integral part of Leia's message) and The Phantom Menace, all Star Wars movie titles contain a "Star Warsy" word.
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When trying to predict Episode IX's title, process of elimination can come in handy. It would appear unlikely "Force" or "Jedi" will be used, since the original and prequel trilogies both avoided repetition in their respective titles. This would lend credence to "Hope" being a leading contender, especially when one considers the beautiful poetry of the Skywalker saga's last movie drawing from the very first. There frankly aren't too many other Star Wars terms that seem like a natural fit, given the trajectory of the sequel trilogy's narrative and the conflicts Episode IX still has to resolve. For a series that started with a new hope, concluding with the last hope saving the galaxy sounds like a tantalizing proposition. But we have a different idea.
Our Title Prediction - Star Wars: The New Order Rises
The Spark of Hope or The Last Hope sounds like a classic Star Wars title, but for now we're going with The New Order Rises. "Order" fits the pre-established Star Wars word rule; while it's not as synonymous as something like "Force" or "Sith," orders have been prevalent in the franchise, be it the Jedi Order of the prequels or the First Order of the sequels. What's more is that it also checks off the prerequisite of the title summarizing the plot of the movie - arguably more so than The Spark of Hope. It's been heavily speculated Episode IX will include a time jump, thrusting viewers into the thick of yet another galaxy-spanning confrontation. The Resistance needed a spark of hope at the beginning of the war as they were on their last rope. But now, presumably, their allies have rallied around Leia and are fighting for a noble cause.
Since Episode IX is the final chapter of the Skywalker saga before the franchise heads off in new horizons, it seems as if this movie will provide a definitive end. Either the Resistance or the First Order will emerge victorious, meaning a new order will form to take control of the galaxy. Rey, in possession of the ancient Jedi texts, may have several other Force users eager to follow her lead and launch a new generation for the Jedi (learning from the prior iterations' failures, of course). On the off chance Kylo Ren wins, he and the Knights of Ren will rule with an iron fist. Though it should be fairly clear the heroes will be victorious (no way Lucasfilm ends the story on a downer note), The New Order Rises keeps it somewhat open-ended as to which side will rise. Is it an order of light or one of darkness? It's also a little more descriptive than just The New Order, since it indicates one faction will come out on top by the end of the film.
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This is merely on prediction of many that have been suggested thus far, and it'll be fascinating to see what Abrams and company ultimately went with. As for when that official announcement will be made, Episode IX is currently in production and won't wrap until February. While there have been rumors of a title reveal or brief teaser coming out in time for Christmas 2018, we likely won't know what the movie is called before February 2019. For now, fans will just have to theorize and come up with their own titles.
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