9. The Rough Cut Of Star Wars: The Force Awakens Runs For 124 Minutes
There were more exciting announcements pertaining to Star Wars: The Force Awakens at D23, but when push comes to shove regarding the final film, there were few more potentially important. Running time is key to the success of any well structured story, and we now know that The Force Awakens is clocking in at about 124 minutes. This is almost definitely a rough-cut of the movie, but with release only 4 months away, you can safely assume it's pretty close to the finished article. If the running time holds that makes it considerably shorter than any of the prequels, but right in line with the original trilogy. Interestingly, it would make The Force Awakens the exact same length as The Empire Strikes Back, a film widely considered the series' best. That's gotta be a good sign, right? More importantly it harks back to the notion The Force Awakens will be a very traditional Star Wars film. 124 minutes definitely feels more in line with the original trilogy than the prequels, whilst dodging the blockbuster bloat that's become a mainstay in modern event cinema. Two hours is by no means short, but it does preserve the sense of an epic story without over-stepping the mark into Peter "let's do the washing-up as a set-piece" Jackson territory. We can expect something big, but also with precision regarding its narrative choices. Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens worldwide 18th December.
