'Star Wars Episode 9' Title Reveal: 3 Words That Would Make It Great

As everyone holds their breath for any hard info about Star Wars: Episode IX, it’s fun to remember that no matter what the title of the movie ends up being, it’s really just the subtitle. The title of the movie is still just “Star Wars” with a number after it. Plus, there’s no way everyone will be happy about it.

So, with that in mind, there are three words that could make the subtitle of Episode IX absolutely perfect. Here’s what those three words are, and why they each would be great.

But first, can we all agree the following Star Wars movies have terrible and/or boring titles? A New Hope, The Phantom Menace, and Attack of the Clones.

Arguably, the reason these subtitles don’t work is that they’re vague. A New Hope was retroactively created after a movie called “Star Wars” was already out, so it almost doesn’t count. Meanwhile, The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones aren’t only bad titles because they’re vague; they’re bad because there are no nouns in the title that say Star Wars using another word.

On the other hand, Revenge of the Sith has the word “Sith” in it which is great. Ditto for The Force Awakens, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and The Last Jedi. The words “Force,” “Sith,” “Empire,” and “Jedi,” communicate the idea of this sprawling saga without too much effort. This is the epitome of a good Star Wars title: You can say it out loud without saying “Star Wars.” Which is why, for my money, one of these three words would make the subtitle to Episode IX fantastic: “Skywalker,” “Destiny,” and “Rebellion.”

Skywalker

Because Episode IX is the supposed conclusion of the saga of the Skywalker family, why not get “Skywalker” in the title? There is literally no other proper noun that screams Star Wars more than this last name. Also, we know that at least three Skywalkers will appear in the film: Luke, Leia, and Kylo Ren. So why not call the movie Fate of the Skywalkers? Or, perhaps, The Skywalkers Fall. Yeah, who wouldn’t see that movie?

Destiny

Throughout all eight existing episodic Star Wars films, the word “destiny” comes up a lot. From Snoke to Obi-Wan Kenobi, to Emperor Palpatine, people are always telling other characters about their destiny. For many Star Wars fans, just whispering the word “destiny” can send shivers up spines and put goosebumps on the skin.

Destiny is a great word for the subtitle of Episode IX for another reason, too: It sounds like part of a conclusionary statement. If Episode IX really is the conclusion to this part of the Star Wars story, then it would be good to have a word that signals an ending. Something like Destiny of the Skywalkers or Destiny of the Force?

Sounds plausible to me!

Rebellion

Let’s face it, Abrams blew his best Star Wars subtitle with The Force Awakens. This, objectively, is a great name for a Star Wars movie. It’s so good, in fact, it should have been the title of this last movie. Using “the Force” in the subtitle is perfect because the Force is such a big goddamn deal in all of Star Wars. Which means they probably can’t or won’t use it again in the same trilogy. So far, the only proper noun that has been repeated twice is “Jedi,” which, honestly, might not be a great title for that film, either. (The Wrath of Skywalker seems way better to me, and I’m not even kidding a little bit.)

The point is, the idea of “rebelling” against some kind of status-quo evil feels integral to the essence of Star Wars. Plus, the flipside of the Rebellion — the Empire — has already been used in a Star Wars subtitle in The Empire Strikes Back. Why not use “Rebellion” this go around? Smartly, Rian Johnson got characters to start using the word “Rebel” again in The Last Jedi, which is a way less clunky way of saying “the Resistance” all the time. Plus, at the end of The Last Jedi, Luke says “the Rebellion is reborn today.”

This means the title that many fans are suggesting — A New Rebellion — is actually a great contender. There was, of course, a 1996 Star Wars novel written by sci-fi legend Kristine Kathryn Rusch called The New Rebellion, but that doesn’t count as canon. Plus, The Force Awakens was almost called Shadows of the Empire, so there’s a precedent for new Star Wars movies (almost) being named after ‘90s books.

So what will it be? Fate of the Skywalkers, Destiny of the Force, or A New Rebellion? If you search your feelings, you know all of these would be great.

Star Wars: Episode IX — something something something — is out on December 20, 2019.