"My original source had told me back in January that Abu Dhabi was a location, and when that came to be, he sent me a scoop that the title for STAR WARS EPISODE VII was THE ANCIENT FEAR.
Tonight... a source that I'm told to call Col. Mustard claimed completely on his own that "the working title" was THE ANCIENT FEAR....
He also stated that "it refers to Max Von Sydow's villain who makes Pazuzu look like a pussy!"
I would NOT want to see Palpatine reduced to a mere front figure; so much of the story depends on him genuinely being the Big Bad. But perhaps the Bigger Bad was out there, biding his time and maybe even using the Rebellion as his instrument to effect vengeance on Palpatine. (Maybe it was Plagueis who made sure the Rebels got the Death Star plans, for instance?)