Why no "Episode VII"..?

I'll bet everything I own that The Force Awakens will open exactly how every other Star Wars film has opened. Keep in mind, when we saw Empire and Jedi back in 'the day,' the only time we saw those episode numbers was in that opening crawl. For years and years afterward, kids I knew would make rumors that they were making the first three episodes. Amazing what some episode numbers will do to a kid's imagination!

 

Wait, The Dark Knight is the sequel of Batman Begins? I never would've guessed!

 

I knew someone in 2008 who didn't realize this movie title she'd been hearing "The Dark Knight" was a new Batman movie.

 

Probably to give TFA its own identity. Calling it Star Wars Episode VII would imply way too much and would create expectations. By omitting the Ep VII from the title, even though it is certainly Ep VII, we are all still up for anything to happen, whether it is a direct continuation following ROTJ or a brand new set of characters and story lines. But by explicitly placing that Ep VII preface in the title, there would be certain expectations that simply could not be avoided.

 

Good point.

I actually would prefer if they just drop all the numbers and have only the titles.


It worked for Harry Potter...

 

Well, even the spines of the books and the DVDs had "Year 1, Year 2" etc. on them. I'm fine with Episode "Whatever" being in the opening crawl, but I like it being omitted from the marketing. It makes The Force Awakens feel like its being touted as its own film, rather than merely the latest installment in an ongoing narrative.