Working Title - Purpose

Purpose

Working titles are used primarily for two reasons-the first being that an official title has not yet been decided upon and the working title is being used as a filler for naming purposes, the second being a ruse to intentionally disguise the production of a project.

Examples of the former include the film Die Hard with a Vengeance, which was produced under the title Die Hard: New York and the James Bond films, which are commonly produced under titles such as Bond 22 until an official title is decided upon.

Examples of the latter include Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, which was produced under the title Blue Harvest; 2009's Star Trek which was produced under the title Corporate Headquarters; and the Batman films Batman Returns, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, which were produced under the titles Dictel, The Intimidation Game, Rory's First Kiss and Magnus Rex, respectively.

In some cases a working title may ultimately be used as the official title, as in the case of the films Cloverfield, High School Musical, and Snakes on a Plane (at the insistence of leading man, Samuel L. Jackson, who joked that he took the role for the working title alone, after he learned the title was going to be changed to Pacific Air Flight 121 upon release), the television show The Cleveland Show, and video games Quake II, Spore, Silent Hill Origins and Epic Mickey.