'Star Wars' title obsession shows what's become toxic about fandom

I am a somewhat above average Star Wars obsessive. Have I ever dressed up like a character from the series -- no -- but my wedding cake did have Han and Leia on it. It's safe to say the original trilogy had a big impact on me, just like millions of others.

So I understand why people are somewhat precious about how the saga has been handled since. That being said the recent flurry of anticipation around what this year's trilogy concluding Episode IX's title has really gotten me anxious, in a most unpleasant way.

Will it be The Balance of the Force (which leaks suggested it might be) or A New Order (which would be a nice bookend to 1977's A New Hope, a.k.a. Star Wars) or something maddeningly inaccurate like Attack of the Clones. Frankly, why do we care so much?

Essentially there is a sea of fanboys and girls out there who are going to judge the entire quality of this film, and by extension the arch of his franchise all off of a movie's title! Do we not see how that is insane?

I don't know that The Empire Strikes Back is the most compelling title of all time -- it's certainly meaningly if you're not steeped in the mythology of the first film -- and yet it is widely considered to be the greatest Star Wars movie ever made.

Return of the Jedi is even less inspired, but it doesn't diminish the appeal of that film for me either.

I understand the ravenous desire to procure any new detail or information about such a highly anticipated final entry in this new trilogy. There are so many unanswered questions, among them how will Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia be written out of the saga and how will Billy Dee Williams' Lando Calrissian be written back in? There is so much intense pressure of J.J. Abrams to please a fanbase that is at the very least bitterly divided over the last official entry, The Last Jedi.

But I fear that no matter what comes out about this movie there will be a lot of premature attacks and handwringing before a single frame has been seen. This hype will likely carry on until we finally get a first trailer, which will inspire meticulous breakdowns of every shot and all sorts of preconceived notions will be set in stone.

Say what you will about The Last Jedi -- an I am unabashed supporter of it -- but I think we can all agree that the trailer for the film, as kinetic as it was, didn't really give away what kind of film The Last Jedi was going to be, nor did the title.

I remember, for instance, being a little nervous when The Force Awakens trailer came out that the movie looked great but also a little humorless, but then the finished product came out and I was delighted by what a comedic romp it was at times.

When it came to The Last Jedi, I simply assumed the title referred to Luke Skywalker, but now I wonder if it could be considered far more ambiguous. Is Rey the last Jedi? Is that title a misdirect.

All of this is to say that I wish Star Wars fandom could somehow become a little less judgmental and hostile. I know, for many of us, the prequels made us deeply cynical and wary of any new Star Wars offering. Our desire to see more of this world frequently clashes with a frustration with the cosmetic and thematic changes to it.

I feel like The Last Jedi was really trying to mess with the formula only to discover that people think that want the formula after all, even though The Force Awakens was dinged for being too formulaic.

So whatever Episode IX is called -- the movie itself means a hell of a lot more than what its called. It'll need to bring closure to not just this trilogy but really the two that proceeded it.

Can there be a more satisfying conclusion to it? That's what I am looking forward to seeing, but I could really care less what its called.