10 Things You Didn't Know About 2001: A Space Odyssey
9. 2001 Went Through A Series Of Working Titles
2001 may be an iconic title in the history of film, but actually, it was one that originated quite late into the production.
It remains one of the most iconic and hugely celebrated films that started off with a different title - others have included Alien (originally called “Star Beast”), E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial ("A Boy's Life"), and Casablanca (“Everybody Come to Rick’s”).
The original working title for the film was “How the Solar System Was Won”, as a reference to the MGM production, “How the West Was Won”. This was later changed to “How the Universe was Won”.
Kubrick then announced in an "official" press release, that the film would be called “Journey Beyond the Stars”. Other working titles included “Planetfall”, “Universal: Tunnel to the Stars”, “The Star Gate”, “Jupiter Window”, and “Earth Escape”, before Kubrick eventually decided on 2001: A Space Odyssey.
It’s probably for the best - I mean “Jupiter Window: A Space Odyssey” doesn’t really have quite the same ring to it, does it?