The episode numbering was quite the looming question in the decade and a half before the prequels… the sad thing was how much promise it held… Ignoring discussion about all that disappointment, I have to say, that episode numbers seem far more often used to identify between prequel movie than they are used to refer to any of the OT films. As much as I support pre-ANH naming, I have gotten caught up in the confusion of the name of the original movie also being the name of the franchise (actually had to delete “first” and put in “original” just in this sentence alone, for clarity, haha). It is a bit of a pain (though, I actually think it is acceptable in conversation to simplify it to episode 4), but overall it is worth calling it by its original name of Star Wars to show we are not ignorant of the true history of the film; much like it is easier to say “Han shot first” when it is really “Han shot Greedo… period”, and both are confusions brought to us by Lucas’ endless tinkering… Case in point, I guess.

So, anyway, it seems to me the better and more distinct Star Wars films may largely find themselves referenced generally by name, with numbering only used to help narrow things down for the less initiated, while terrible Star Wars movies will probably just be known largely as their numbers… If current trends are to be followed.