Rumor: Is This The New 'Star Wars Episode 7' Title?

Now that a big official announcement has put many of those Star Wars Episode VII casting rumors to rest, we can turn our attention to a different kind of rumor swirling around. According to a new report, Star Wars Episode VII is currently titled The Ancient Fear. As in the opposite of A New Hope, I guess. Hit the jump for more details, including what that name might be referring to.

And that's assuming this story is even true. AICN gets some pretty good scoops, but with a production as secretive as Star Wars Episode VII, there's always going to be a lot of misinformation flying around. So if you don't like the title, there's no reason to freak out just yet.

All that said, AICN's source did offer an explanation for the name. Apparently, "it refers to Max Von Sydow's villain who makes Pazuzu look like a pussy!" (By which I assume they mean this Pazuzu or this one, and not this one.) Adam Driver is currently believed to be the film's primary antagonist, but baddies in the Star Wars universe don't tend to work alone. "Always two, there are." There's definitely room for a Palpatine-Vader relationship.

The site says that they have reached out to the J.J. Abrams camp for comment and received no response. Which likely won't change for another few months — the (unconfirmed) word is that Disney will unveil the full title at this year's Comic-Con.

Star Wars Episode VII opens December 18.