‘Star Wars’ Runtime Revealed: This Is How Long You’ll Be Sitting Through ‘The Force Awakens’ On Dec. 18

The Star Wars runtime has been revealed for Episode VII: The Force Awakens, and it looks like J.J. Abrams’ sequel to Return of the Jedi will have more in common with Episodes IV and V (A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, respectively) than any of the other films in the series.

Going against the grain of most modern-day blockbusters, this latest installment — the first of a new trilogy, which hits theaters Dec. 18, 2015 — will go for a shorter length.

It’s three minutes longer than the theatrical run of the 1977 original (121 minutes) and the same exact length — give or take a few seconds — as The Empire Strikes Back (124 minutes).

If that depresses any of you fans, keep in mind that Return of the Jedi — often regarded as the weakest of the three originals, and the prequel trilogy, which shall not be named — each ran longer than 130 minutes.

Collider has the full breakdown on Star Wars runtime history, which goes something like this: Jedi (131 minutes), TPM (133 minutes), AOTC (142 minutes), and ROTS (140 minutes).

That is to say, longer does not a good Star Wars movie make.

The new Lucasfilm revealed the latest Star Wars runtime at Disney’s D23 this weekend along with some other goodies that fans are sure to love.

One of those goodies included a first poster, which confirmed that Finn (John Boyega’s character) uses a lightsaber — a blue one — in the film.

The poster, created by series poster veteran Drew Struzan, also features Han Solo (Harrison Ford) holding a blaster.

Check that out here (with a special thanks to Yahoo! for pointing it out, and to Lucasfilm for creating it and releasing it at the gathering).

Of course, if all this is not exciting enough to fans of the series, there are more details being released about those spinoff movies all the time.

Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy expounded on the story behind Rogue One, which will focus on the group of Rebels who are tasked with stealing the plans for the original Death Star. Set before A New Hope, the film will reportedly take on a different feel from the primary Star Wars films, examining the world of a ground war.

“Rogue One takes place before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope and will be a departure from the saga films but have elements that are familiar to the Star Wars universe. It goes into new territory, exploring the galactic struggle from a ground-war perspective while maintaining that essential Star Wars feel that fans have come to know. Gareth is such an innovative director and I’m so excited to be working with him and the extraordinary ensemble cast he’s selected for Rogue One.”

There are also plans for a Han Solo spinoff and a Boba Fett spinoff as well as Episodes VIII and IX to follow The Force Awakens.

So what about it, readers? Are you excited about the new announcements at D23, and is 124 minutes too short for a Star Wars runtime? Sound off in the comments section.

[Images via Disney/Lucasfilm c/o The Wrap]