Buzz
Before hitting theaters, many Hollywood films are known by an alternate name, often called a working title. These temporary monikers help shield production details from overzealous fans or reduce expenses. Below are 14 such working titles for well-known Hollywood movies.
1. Temporary Name: "Blue Harvest"
Official Title: Return of the Jedi
When filming for Return of the Jedi began in 1982, Star Wars had already become a massive cultural sensation. To avoid drawing attention from fans and media, Lucasfilm employed a working title. “Blue Harvest” was utilized throughout the entire production process in the U.S.
The working title “Blue Harvest” was purportedly a horror movie with the slogan “Horror Beyond Imagination.” It appeared on nearly every aspect of the production, then called Revenge of the Jedi, from crew apparel to shipping labels and invoices. The title was later revised to Return of the Jedi after George Lucas concluded that revenge is not a concept aligned with the Jedi philosophy.
Another motive behind the “Blue Harvest” working title was cost efficiency: During the filming of The Empire Strikes Back, locations and services had reportedly raised their prices, prompting Lucasfilm to adopt a discreet approach for this project.
2. Temporary Name: "Planet Ice"
Official Title: Titanic
Before the blockbuster Titanic was officially revealed, director James Cameron filmed icebergs near Nova Scotia under the pretense of creating a movie titled “Planet Ice.” This working title was designed to prevent competing studios from producing their own Titanic-themed films before Cameron’s project reached theaters.
3. Temporary Name: "Rory’s First Kiss"
Official Title: The Dark Knight
During the 2007 filming of The Dark Knight in Chicago, director Christopher Nolan tried to conceal the movie’s true identity with the working title “Rory’s First Kiss.” However, the disguise didn’t fool dedicated fans: A casting call for “real police officers, sheriffs, and bagpipers” led a journalist to uncover the ruse after checking IMDB.com, which listed Nolan as the director of “Rory’s First Kiss,” starring Christian Bale and Heath Ledger. It became clear that Nolan was working on the sequel to the acclaimed Batman Begins.
Christopher Nolan employed the working title “The Intimidation Game” for Batman Begins and “Magnus Rex” for The Dark Knight Rises. For his 2010 film Inception, Nolan used the temporary name “Oliver’s Arrow.”
4. Temporary Name: "Incident on 57th Street"
Official Title:
To prevent attracting the attention of Harry Potter enthusiasts, the production team of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets adopted the unusual working title “Incident on 57th Street” during the London filming. The title was inspired by a Bruce Springsteen song with the same name.
5. Temporary Name: "How the Solar System Was Won"
Official Title: 2001: A Space Odyssey
Widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time, Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke privately called their 1968 sci-fi masterpiece “How the Solar System Was Won,” a nod to the 1962 Western How the West Was Won. Warner Bros. initially announced the project in 1965 under the title Journey Beyond the Stars.
After 11 months of production, Kubrick and Clarke finally chose the title 2001: A Space Odyssey. Other potential titles they considered included Universe, Tunnel to the Stars, and Planetfall.
6. Temporary Name: "Star Beast"
Official Title: Alien
Screenwriters Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett conceptualized a groundbreaking blend of science fiction and horror. Initially titled “Star Beast” after the menacing Xenomorph creature, the script was later renamed Alien when O’Bannon noticed how frequently the word appeared throughout the screenplay.
7. Temporary Name: "The Seven Deadly Sins"
Official Title: Se7en
In 1995, David Fincher directed the thriller Se7en, featuring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, and Gwyneth Paltrow. Initially titled “The Seven Deadly Sins,” the film centered on a serial killer who based his murders on the seven capital vices. The title was later altered to create intrigue and generate buzz ahead of its theatrical release.
8. Temporary Name: "Paradox"
Official Title: Back To The Future Part II
The original concept for the Back To The Future sequels was pitched under the title “Paradox.” Initially planned as a single film, the project was divided into two parts due to budget constraints. Director Robert Zemeckis retained the working title to minimize fan speculation during the simultaneous filming of both sequels.
9. Temporary Name: "Black Mask"
Official Title: Pulp Fiction
While developing the screenplay for Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avery initially named the project “Black Mask” as a tribute to the iconic crime fiction magazines of the 1930s and '40s. They later shifted the title to better reflect the broader pulp genre rather than a specific publication.
10. Temporary Name: "Everybody Comes To Rick’s"
Official Title: Casablanca
The classic film Casablanca originated from an unproduced stage play titled “Everybody Comes To Rick’s.” Despite Murray Burnett and Joan Alison’s inability to secure funding for a Broadway production, Warner Bros. purchased the film rights for $20,000 in 1942. The title was later changed to Casablanca to capitalize on the success of the 1938 film Algiers.
11. Temporary Name: "Group Hug"
Official Title: The Avengers
Marvel assigns unique codenames or working titles to all its films (e.g., Captain America: The First Avenger was codenamed “Frostbite” due to the character’s icy fate). For The Avengers, Joss Whedon selected “Group Hug” to mislead eager fans. Tom Hiddleston explained to Elle magazine that the title was apt, saying, “The Avengers was 'Group Hug.' It truly felt like a group hug on set."
12. Temporary Name: "A Boy’s Life"
Official Title: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
To maintain secrecy around the premise of E.T., Steven Spielberg used the working title “A Boy’s Life.” Actors were closely monitored while reading the script, and strict security measures, including ID cards, were enforced on set to prevent leaks.
13. Temporary Name: "Corporate Headquarters"
Official Title: Star Trek
J.J. Abrams is known for his love of secrecy. While working on the first Star Trek reboot, he adopted the working title “Corporate Headquarters” to mislead curious journalists and fans. The production was heavily guarded, with actors supervised during script readings and rehearsals. However, a casting call seeking actors with a “Vulcan-type eyebrow shape” eventually revealed that Abrams’ project was indeed Star Trek.
14. Temporary Name: "Changing Seasons"
Official Title: Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
By 1998, it was widely known that Peter Jackson was adapting J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings into a film trilogy. Jackson and his team spent two years in New Zealand filming all three movies simultaneously. To surprise fans, the film canisters for Fellowship of the Ring were labeled “Changing Seasons” to disguise the true nature of the film.
For the sequels—Two Towers and Return of the King—Jackson used the working titles “Grand Tour” and “Til Death, For Glory,” respectively.
