A New Hope. The Empire Strikes Back. Return of the Jedi.

For millions of moviegoers, these titles are synonymous with one of the most brilliant science-fiction trilogies ever. Each one is a nigh-perfect marriage to its respective film, an accurate description that ushers forth a feeling of excitement while still retaining an air of dignity. Majesty mixed with childhood excitement; the formula seemed perfect.

I have to admit that I awaited the announcement of the title for Star Wars: Episode I with baited breath, eager to hear what the start of the next trilogy would be called. I’ll never forget sitting at dinner, watching Access Hollywood, and hearing those words: "And, finally, tonight, the new Star Wars movie has a title..." What could it be? Rise of the Empire? The Saga Begins?

"The Phantom Menace." My heart drop. How cornball. How, I felt, out of sync with the original trilogy. When the film finally came out, I had only the vaguest sense of what the aforementioned "Menace" was (while I understood it to refer to the growing power of the Sith, I was all but positive that a majority of the film going public would be clueless as to the allusion).

I got over. Then Episode II’s title came out: Attack of the Clones. Boy. Is Flash Gordon going to be in this one? I appreciated the B-movie sense of humor in the title, but I felt that it was, like TPM, grossly incongruous with the other titles. Even Episode I’s name was better than "Attack of the Clones." Plus, I was dreading all of the inevitable reviews - and they did come just as predicted - that used the line "Send in the Clones."

Flash-forward to 2004. I’m sitting at the computer this summer, and start reading rumblings about Birth of the Empire and Revenge of the Sith. I hoped for the former, got the latter. Needless to say, by this point I had no faith in George Lucas to keep the titles of my favorite set of films respectable in the eyes of the casual fans. How darn cheesy.

And then... I started thinking about it. And it hit me like a ton of bricks.

The prequel trilogy titles are a perfect match. In short, they are direct parallels of the titles of the original trilogy. In the PT (prequel trilogy), things go from good to bad, and in the OTC (original trilogy), things go from bad to good.

Think about it: in the OTC, we have A New Hope - basically setting up the rest of the trilogy, like a sign saying "Something GOOD is going to happen, and It will change the galaxy!". In the PT, Lucas gave us The Phantom Menace - basically setting up the rest of the trilogy, but this time the sign says "Something BAD is going to happen, and it will change the galaxy!" Heck, they even follow the same formula: indirect/direct article, adjective, noun.

Episode II is exactly the same. The Empire Strikes Back describes the military retaliation of the evil Empire, the bad guys. Following the trend, we would expect just the opposite: military action by the good guys. That’s just what Lucas gave us: Attack of the Clones. The only reason it sounds sillier is because the ancient word "Empire" has much more gravitas and weight to it than the relatively new term "Clone", which for the longest time - until Dolly - seemed a ridiculous scientific impossibility.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why Revenge of the Sith is a perfect title. Not only does it harken back to the working title of Episode VI, Revenge of the Jedi, but it is a perfect parallel to Return of the Jedi. Episode III will be the proverbial nail in the galaxy’s coffin; Episode VI is the resurrection of a dead Order.

The prequel trilogy titles are direct parallels of the original trilogy titles - evil parodies created by the Darkside, if you will.

Once again, we see an example of how, on the surface, the installments of the prequel trilogy seem overly commercialized and subpar to the original films - but in truth are actually deeper than a majority of critics give them credit for. If one sits back, looks at these titles, and makes an attempt to reconcile the two trilogies, the choices George Lucas has made seem to make perfect sense. It’s a shame that these movies - not without flaws in the author’s mind, but with many moments of sheer brilliance - are still as maligned as they are by the general public. The problem, in truth, is that many of us aren’t willing to sit down and look for some of the incredible things in Episodes I, II, and (hopefully) III.

But that’s an essay for another time.

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