The latest Star Wars film very nearly wasn’t called The Force Awakens

The Force Awakens is such a fitting title for the latest installment in the Star Wars franchise that it's impossible to imagine it being called anything else.

But it has now emerged that episode VII was very nearly titled 'Shadow of the Force'. The revelation was made by Pablo Hidalgo, a creative executive with LucasFilm who worked on the project back before its ominous working title was replaced by its ominous final title. https://twitter.com/pablohidalgo/status/680455366585401344 https://twitter.com/pablohidalgo/status/680465074553622528 Hidalgo was referring to 1996 novel Shadows of the Empire, set chronologically somewhere between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. There was also a video game released under the same title, so you can appreciate why those behind The Force Awakens wanted to avoid confusion.