George Clooney, Brad Bird Mysterious Disney Project Gets New Title

"Tomorrowland" is the new name of the Brad Bird-George Clooney project, formerly known as "1952"

Brad Bird and George Clooney's top secret collaboration is getting a new title, Walt Disney Studios said Monday. 

Getty ImagesPreviously known as "1952," the live action film has now been dubbed "Tomorrowland." It will hit theaters on Dec. 19, 2014.

The aura of mystery that surrounds the project is to be expected given that the script is being written with Damon Lindelof, who was behind "Prometheus" and "Lost," two projects that toyed frequently and effectively with audiences' expectations. There's also an added level of intensity, because Bird has been very much in demand after reviving the Mission:Impossible franchise with 2011's "Ghost Protocol."

Speculation on what exactly the film is about erupted last week, after Bird tweeted an image of a box that he said had been found in the Disney archives. Among the objects were photos of Walt Disney from the 1950s, a vinyl record, lots of fading accordion folders, a book on the history of NASA and a copy of “Amazing Stories” magazine.

"The box…opened," Bird tweeted.

Its not clear if the Bird project is enmeshed in the history of the iconic studio, but the new title could be a reference to one of the theme lands at Disney's theme parks. Moreover, Disney himself was a futurist — so are the photos of the studio chief a hint that he may be a plot point in the story?

For the record: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the film was formerly titled "1953." It was called "1952."

 

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