A new theory making its rounds in the fan press has it that writer Damon Lindelof and director Brad Bird's upcoming science fiction epic 1952 is, in fact, a code name for Star Wars Episode VII and that the creative team was assembled and put into motion some time ago.

Back in June 2011, just a month after negotiations reportedly began between Robert Iger and George Lucas that would eventually result in this week's sale of Lucasfilm to the Walt Disney Company, Lindelof was hired to bring together 1952, a mysterious science fiction project reported to have tentpole ambitions. A year later, in May 2012, Bird was hired to direct the film. A month later than that, Kathleen Kennedy was brought on to head up Lucasfilm, and shortly thereafter Lucas revealed to insiders that she would be shepherding Star Wars Episode VII.

The theory, presented at Ain't It Cool News, quotes a First Showing article that says of 1952, "Whether that's just a codename or an actual year related to the story, we're not yet sure, but the project 'has multi-platform aspirations' meaning Disney wants it for theme parks, retail stores and theaters."

That certainly syncs up with what Iger told investors about the long-term prospects of the Star Wars property, of course, although it's admittedly probably what they would say about any big property that they're going to spend hundreds of millions to produce. Still, the timing is a compelling coincidence, and Brad Bird has been one of the top names associated with the film over the last day or two, popping up in almost every article and comments thread on the topic.

Also, a film project on the scope of Star Wars could easily explain why Lindelof has told fans and press that he wouldn't have time to work on Prometheus sequels. At the time, it seemed like an odd choice for him to make, given the film's financial success (even if he took some lumps critically).

There's a lack of denial on Lindelof's part that makes this theory somewhat interesting. It's one thing for neither Disney nor Bird to have said anything, since they haven't made any public statements on any Internet speculation yet. Lindelof has seen the Ain't It Cool story, though, and joked about it on Twitter, saying "If I ever need a suicide note, I'll just print out this comments section."