Are Lucasfilm Changing The Title Of Star Wars: Rogue One?

Shall we just accept that the new Star Wars is going to be the most anticipated movie of every year for the foreseeable future? I didn't think I'd ever get the same raw, giddy thrill from a teaser trailer again after Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but then along came Rogue One's. Yes, Opening Crawl: The Movie, in unequivocal terms, looks amazing: it's got the best cast of any movie in the series (Ben Mendelsohn, Forest Whitaker and Mads Mikkelsen?!), has a fresh and interesting plot pitch and the action in the trailer showed a sense of scale we haven't seen since, well, Gareth Edwards' last film, Godzilla.

My only reservation is that bloody title. Because, of course, Rogue One isn't a standard Star Wars film, but the first in a new sub-franchise of spin-offs expanding the world. So that's how we get Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, a title that sits alongside The Divergent Series: Whatever in its cynical approach to franchise movie making.

I assumed the decision to market Star Wars Episode VII on its subtitle instead of the loaded numbering was a way to standardise the franchise's titling (they'd all be Star Wars: Subtitle going forward) and thus build to a future that wasn't reliant on the ongoing Skywalker Episodes (because they can't feasibly go beyond XII), yet Lucasfilm haveinsisted on calling themStory (née Anthology) films.

Although maybe not for long. The Star Wars Instagram account has revealed the official merchandising design for the film's toy range, boasting rampaging AT-ATs, a looming Shadow Trooper and, crucially, a new logo for the film. Apparently, on the toys at least, itwill be called simply Star Wars: Rogue One.

Who knows if this will carry over into the movie's marketing (or the film itself), but it's a good sign, because, basically,Star Wars: Rogue One make infinitely more sense; Star Wars is the selling point here and that's where the focus needs to be. We at WhatCulture have obviously been calling it by this title for a while, as have most other people around the internet, so from a branding point-of-view this a smart, and somewhat inevitable,move.

It's all go with Star Wars titles at the moment. Episode VIII is deep into production, so speculation on that subtitle is rife, while this Rogue One development poses a big question for the next spin-off; will we actually get a movie just called Star Wars: Han Solo?

Star Wars: Rogue One is in cinemas from 16th December 2016.