Here's what Star Wars: The Force Awakens was originally called

Star Wars: The Force Awakens raised some eyebrows and resulted in some humourous jokes and memes when it was initially named. But it wasn't always known by that name.

Creative executive at Lucasfilm Story Group, Pablo Hidalgo, revealed on Twitter that "for the longest time," The Force Awakens was known as Shadow of the Empire.

Shadows of the Empire was the name of a 1996 Star Wars Expanded Universe novel by Steven Perry set between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

Hidalgo said that "with so many books, it's inevitable" that some pieces of the universe would share a name. But sharing names would have led to confusion, especially as the events of the film have nothing to do with what unfolds in the book.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens continues to go from strength to strength. Over the weekend, it became the fastest film to reach the $1 billion box office mark.