'Star Wars Episode 9' Title: "Balance of the Force" Is Fake for One Reason

The internet is going into hyperdrive levels of speculation that the Star Wars: Episode IX title reveal could be imminent. After C-3P0 actor Anthony Daniels tweeted on Monday that something big was coming, the news failed to materialize. What we got instead was a leaked Episode IX title that sounds promising but is clearly bogus. Here’s why the next Star Wars movie definitely isn’t “Balance of the Force.”

First, some background. The leak comes from Reddit, where a screenshot of what appeared to be some internal code from the Star Wars website revealed the alleged Episode IX title. It’s fairly convincing, especially since “Balance of the Force” plays into a popular theme from the entire Skywalker saga and suggests that this movie might actually provide closure on the franchise as a whole.

Unfortunately, we’re pretty sure “Balance of the Force” is pure fan fiction.

This leak comes from redditor u/daviebaby8666, and a bit of digging into their Reddit history reveals this isn’t the first time they’ve “leaked” incorrect info about a Disney-owned movie title. Two months earlier, u/daviebaby8666 shared a similar post regarding the then-unknown title for Avengers: Endgame, claiming it would actually be called “Avengers: Titanomachy.”

Clearly, that didn’t pan out, and we’ve since learned that Endgame was the planned title since at least the point when Marvel started working on the Infinity War script. So it seems safe to assume that u/daviebaby8666 doesn’t have any inside info and instead seems to enjoy pranking movie fans on Reddit.

So we wouldn’t put too much faith in Star Wars: Episode IX being titled “Balance of the Force,” though, we certainly won’t complain if it turns out to be true. It really is a great title.

Corey Plante contributed reporting to this article.

Star Wars: Episode IX his theaters on December 20, 2019.