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Rise of Skywalker Runtime Confirmed: Longest Star Wars Movie Ever
The official Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker runtime confirms it is the longest installment in the franchise yet. Given everything the film needs to accomplish, it would have been quite surprising if the movie was on the short side. Not only is this wrapping up the sequel trilogy that began with 2015's The Force Awakens, it's also serving as the definitive conclusion of the entire Skywalker saga, culminating a nine-movie arc that's been ongoing since 1977. In some respects, this is Endgame for Star Wars, tying up one era before the franchise moves on to new horizons.
Endgame, of course, was a full three hours as it concluded the Infinity Saga, giving the Original Six Avengers the proper sendoff they deserved. Since Disney was willing to go with a protracted runtime for Marvel (which had absolutely no impact on Endgame's total box office), some were probably wondering if they'd do the same for Star Wars. Recently, there were rumors pointing to the film being 155 minutes long, and it turns out that's precisely the case.
AMC Theaters' official The Rise of Skywalker page notes the film runs 2 hours, 35 minutes, which is 155 minutes exactly. This makes Star Wars 9 the longest entry in the series to date. Previously, The Last Jedi was the longest, coming in at 152 minutes. For comparison's sake, The Force Awakens was 135 minutes.
When the 155-minute runtime first circulated online, some theorized it was a placeholder. As director J.J. Abrams and crew work diligently on post-production, there was a chance the picture wasn't locked yet. On The Force Awakens, Abrams didn't complete his final cut until November 2015, nearly a month before the film opened. However, it looks like he wrapped things up a little earlier this time around (remember, Star Wars 9 was being edited on-set during principal photography). While this runtime wasn't officially announced by Disney, the AMC listing works as confirmation. Rise of Skywalker tickets are now on sale, and theaters need to plan their schedule of daily screenings. More likely than not, the studio was in contact with the chains to let them know how long the movie is.
Anticipation for The Rise of Skywalker is at an all-time high right now, and fans everywhere have their fingers crossed it ends the saga in a satisfying manner. Oddly enough, the film's runtime could be indicative of its potential quality. Rotten Tomatoes conducted a study that showed longer movies are more likely to received fresh ratings from critics, so The Rise of Skywalker being 155 minutes is a good omen. Of course, that's not a guarantee the movie will be great, but it's an interesting statistic to keep in mind as viewers wait for the first batch of reactions to roll in this winter.
Star Wars 9 / Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) release date: Dec 20, 2019
