Star Wars Episode 3 - The Revenge of the Sith

I love the title of Episode 3.

Not a lot of people know this, but the original title for Return of the Jedi was actually Revenge of the Jedi. I really do not know a lot of the details on why it was changed, but some have said that there was pressure to change the title to something less negative sounding and Lucas caved. Personally, I think "Return" is more fitting than "Revenge". When I think "Revenge", I think of something more negative. The Return of the Jedi was not negative.

Revenge of the Sith works because Episode 3 should not be a happy movie. Lucas himself said that the movie would be very dark, and it should be. What we should be seeing in this movie is Chancellor Palpatine become Emporer Palpatine, along with the asassination of the Jedi and probably the death of Padme Amidala. Anakin will make his turn to the Dark Side, and the mother of all lightsaber battles will finally be revealed. Revenge works because just like Darth Maul said in Episode 1, they will finally get their revenge. The Sith are a little pissed off at being constantly defeated by the Jedi over thousands of years of conflict.

A few possible titles for Episode 3 had been floating around the Internet. The title I heard a few years ago was "The Rise of the Empire". I think it would fit, and I was supportive of this title. A few months ago, a rumor surfaced(Harry Knowles?) that said the title would be "The Creeping Fear". This would have been horrible, and I am glad that this, like many Internet rumors, was squashed for good. From some of the reactions I have seen, not a lot of people are supportive of the title "Revenge of the Sith". A lot of them are the types that think no matter what, Lucas will fuck it all up anyway, so does their opinion really matter?

The movie will be released on May 19th, 2005. Teasers should start showing up in the next few months from what I am hearing. It is a good time to be a Star Wars Geek.