News Digest

'The Force Awakens': New Star Wars film gets title as shooting completes

"Star Wars" fans were sent into a frenzy Thursday as studio giant Disney revealed the title of the iconic franchise’s seventh episode — "The Force Awakens" — and said filming was over. "The Force Awakens" immediately shot to the top of trending topics on Twitter after Walt Disney Pictures and the official "Star Wars" account released the much-anticipated title.

'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' has completed principal photography.

Disney’s official Twitter account announcing the name of the new “Star Wars” film

Speculation about what the title means centers on it being a follow-up to “The Return of the Jedi” — in which Luke Skywalker was left as the only known Jedi Knight holder of the Force, with no rivals from the “dark side” Sith camp. Fan sites wonder if “The Force Awakens” refers to both the light side and dark side, Jedis and Siths. The film, directed by J. J. Abrams, will now require months of post-production before its worldwide release on December 18, 2015.