Working title

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This article is about the term working title. For the film production company, see Working Title Films. For the band, see The Working Title.

A working title, sometimes called a production title, is the temporary name of a product or project used during its development, usually a film, novel, video game, or music album. Working titles are used primarily for two reasons; the first being that an official title has not yet been decided upon, the second being 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 and The Dark Knight, which were produced under the titles Dictel, The Intimidation Game and Rory's First Kiss, respectively.

In some cases a working title may ultimately be used as the official title, as in the case of the films Cloverfield and High School Musical and video games Quake II, Spore, Silent Hill Origins 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 learnt the title was going to be changed to Pacific Air Flight 121 upon release).