Star Wars: The Force Awakens Running Time Confirmed. More on Finn and Rey.

Finn & ReyThe last excerpt from Entertainment Weekly’s special Star Wars: The Force Awakens double issue (available now for purchase) focuses on Rey and Finn and their impact on the new movie. The new EW issue also finally confirms the running time of the movie to be 2 hours and 15 minutes.

 

 

First of all /Film noticed that the cover story in the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly reveals that the final edit of The Force Awakens is  complete and has a running time of 2 hours and 15 minutes:

Picture was locked on November 3rd 2015 at midnight, but JJ Abrams and crew will be spending the next few weeks finalizing the film’s visual effects, sound effects and a final scoring session with composer John Williams.

 

Our staff member Trevor confirmed that the running time printed on the voucher he got after he picked up his tickets today also said 2:16. That running time was mentioned before, but now we have an official confirmation.

 

Finn & Rey

Now to the latest Entertainment Weekly piece focused on Finn and Rey:

“Writing this script with Larry Kasdan, I didn’t know what Rey was going to look like, I didn’t know what Finn or Poe would look like. I just knew that this movie needed to look the way the world looks,” director and co-writer J.J. Abrams tells EW.

 

So, Finn and Rey may not look alike, but their commonalities far outweigh their differences. Both are essentially war orphans. He was a child soldier, bred to wear the white armor of a stormtrooper and fight and die, if necessary, on behalf of The First Order. She was abandoned at age 5 on the desert world of Jakku, and has been waiting ever since to be reclaimed.

“There was no one really guiding her. She’s never sat around a table and had a meal with someone else,” Ridley says. “She has a boss, she has someone to answer to, she has to trade the junk for food, and that’s how it has to be. She works to feed herself, and she goes to sleep, and she gets up again. It is a sad life.”
daisy-ridley-bb8-john-boyegaWhen she meets Finn, a fellow discarded person, they activate something in each other. She has been told she’s nothing, and he has been told he’s only good for one thing. “It’s about looking for a greater purpose, rather than thinking ‘this is the only thing I can do,’” Boyega says. “He wants to change. He wants to make a difference. He’s trying to find some kind of moral dignity in this war.”

From climbing ropes through fallen Star Destroyers and battering henchmen with her staff, to flying the Millennium Falcon, both on her own and alongside Han Solo, Rey is living out the dream of every fanboy or fangirl.

She even got some sage starship-flying advice from Harrison Ford. “I was doing randomly switch-flipping,” Ridley said. “But I was probably flipping switches a bit too much, and Harrison kind of put his hand out and said, no, everything had to have a purpose. Like, you flip a switch and then you see what it does, before you do anything else. I was probably flipping switches too quickly!”
Rey and ChewieThe adventure also had its awkward moments. “Um, probably when I sat in his pilot seat,” Ridley says. “There’s a shot where I pilot the Falcon by myself. And then [on another day] Harrison and I went to film together. I went to get into the pilot seat and he was like, ‘That’s mine,’ and I was genuinely mortified. And J.J. was sitting there like, ‘Oh my God, oh my God.’ And, you know, I moved into the co-pilot seat.”

For Boyega, he got to live out the childhood dream of swinging a lightsaber in a battle against the Dark Side of the Force.

“It started in rehearsals. We had [Kylo Ren actor] Adam Driver. That was the first time ever I had a stick in my hand that I could pretend was a lightsaber, which was the first stage of excitement,” he says. “I had to do all the sound effects and stuff by myself.”
Finn ignitesIn front of the cameras, he was given a much more elaborate prop. “That’s when I got the real saber, which is blue, it’s lighted, and just looks really epic,” Boyega says. “It felt monumental in my hand. I knew not to play like I used to when I was a kid, but to actually use it in serious combat for a scene. It’s absolutely crazy to have in your hand. It’s a bit heavy but it’s worth it. “

 

Special thanks to Anthony Breznican and EW.com for the great series of articles. We’ve learned many new details about the characters, without giving too much away of the movie’s plot. We will find out more on the plot in just 34 days. We’re almost there….

 

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Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.Born on April 24, 1980.

40 thoughts on “Star Wars: The Force Awakens Running Time Confirmed. More on Finn and Rey.

  • November 14, 2015 at 12:41 am
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    I just realized that the picture of Rey and Chewie actually DEBUNKS the “Han dies” theory.

    In the picture, they’re supposedly sad because Han died, but Chewie isn’t carrying the bandage on this arm from the injury.

    • November 14, 2015 at 12:50 am
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      Prime example: “Kylo Ren is Luke Skywalker”

      • November 14, 2015 at 12:53 am
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        Yeah, that’s another great one. With all the evidence in front of you, how can you ever say that?

        “yeah, but this one time, JJ told a lie, so everything he said is a lie, even the Actor’s own portfolio and his biography.

        It’s cherry picking “evidence” for their own claims, while ignoring everything else stacked against their “solid” theory.

        • November 14, 2015 at 12:57 am
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          It’s as if people don’t take marketing ploys into consideration even though this is the biggest cinematic release of the century…

          • November 14, 2015 at 1:09 am
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            Exactly. As I said in another thread, even the ATM’s here in Taiwan run Star Wars advertisement, and it’s all over the city on LED screens. People should start taking some things at face value and leave their EU wet dreams out of it.

      • November 14, 2015 at 2:28 am
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        I’ll tell you *why* Kylo Ren is Luke Skywalker.
        It’s because Mark Hamill and Adam Driver are actually the same person.
        I can understand the mixup.
        🙂

        • November 14, 2015 at 2:34 am
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          Makes perfect sense!

    • November 14, 2015 at 1:19 am
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      Since as far as I know I was the first person to say it looked like Phasma, let me defend that. First, I didn’t ignore the uniform; Obviously we know what Phasma is supposed to wear. But there are clearly other people wearing similar clothes in other clips (on the platform — not Phasma). Also, it sounds like a woman saying “fire.” The hair is longer in the back and appears pushed behind the ear like Gwendolyn Christie does. Could be a weird light, but I’m not yet convinced.

      • November 14, 2015 at 1:29 am
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        Wasn’t there an interview (or was that speculation again) where she said that she never takes of the helmet in the movie?

    • November 14, 2015 at 1:37 am
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      Han doesn’t die because of a bandage. Who knew. Lol.

      • November 14, 2015 at 1:53 am
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        That comment, and probably not reading daisy’s quote shows you probably didn’t apply logic and chronological reasoning.

        • November 14, 2015 at 2:17 am
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          Just messing with you.

          But, that scene could easily be after the final assault, Chewie has received medical attention back at the Resistance base, his wound now healed, bandage gone. Rey, Chewie, and BB-8 then fly off to Luke’s location (Skellig Michael Island planet).

          Or, the bandage simply fell of in the heat of the action, it happens. Chewie could have simply decided to remove the bandage himself, he is a Wookie after all. His wound must have been pretty superficial in the first place, if he could still fly the Falcon, fight, set-off explosions, etc.

          Daisy mentions she flies the Falcon by herself (all the Jakku scenes we’ve seen) and co-pilots it with Han, so I don’t see how that rules out Han dying. The biggest twist for me in TFA would be Han not dying.

      • November 14, 2015 at 2:45 am
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        Actually, the lack of a bandage proves without a doubt that the real heroes of Episode 8 are going to be Dexter Jettster and Salacius Crumb.

    • November 14, 2015 at 12:31 pm
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      I think the reason for Rey piloting the Falcon is simply that Finn and Han Solo are manning the guns. There’s been a pic of Finn at the gun controls, my bet is Han is just below him on the other one. I still think there’s a good chance he’s going to die, but I don’t think we have seen anything yet of the final act of the film (except maybe the x-wing attack on Starkiller base).

    • November 14, 2015 at 2:25 pm
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      Bandage???

  • November 14, 2015 at 1:01 am
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    So who thinks Kylo gets Luke’s ( Annakins ) saber from Finn? Will the next movie focus on our heroes trying to get it back again?

    • November 14, 2015 at 1:52 am
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      I think you hit the nail on the head. Although I still want to know whats so awesome about luke’s old lighstaber aside from vader nostalgia? If its just a cool relic why not just let the guy have it? Is it like an force-locator for luke? A key to something? No one has ever implied that the saber was particularly special in the past so what changed?

      • November 14, 2015 at 2:48 am
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        I think the key to finding the old Skywalker lightsaber, if that’s indeed part of the story, is because it will show Kylo the proper way to construct one. Yeah, it sounds like a ridiculous theory, but hey.. who knows, it could be true. It also could hold the blueprints on how to use it’s kind of power to construct an even bigger weapon that the First Order could construct that’s needed to complete Starkiller Base, or to create something even more menacing.

        • November 14, 2015 at 3:49 am
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          No, actually I think your theory on the Skywalker lightsaber makes a lot of sense. I mean, aside of sentimental value (and only if Kylo turns out to be related to Anakin in some way, which I’m not buying yet), the only reason why the laser sword would be so important is for him to learn what goes into the forging of a true lightsaber.

  • November 14, 2015 at 1:09 am
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    I’m happy to see that many of the rumord and guesses that have been floating around this site have been proven right, e.g. that Finn was raised from childhood to be a First Order soldier and that Rey was abandoned at a young age on Jakku and basically grew up by herself. Max Von Sydow’s character is probably more of an abusive boss than a father figure to her.

    • November 14, 2015 at 4:07 pm
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      I don’t think MVS is Rey’s boss. He’s someone entirely different. I’ve seen shots of him talking with Poe.

  • November 14, 2015 at 1:22 am
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    Hot diggity!

  • November 14, 2015 at 1:52 am
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    2 hours and 15 minutes? Thats Attack of the clones length, but hopefully won’t feel like 5 hours

    • November 14, 2015 at 2:43 am
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      Actually Attack of the Clones felt very short.
      I think you’ve confused this with Avengers 2.

      • November 14, 2015 at 8:09 am
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        no he got it right!

      • November 14, 2015 at 1:17 pm
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        AotC does feel short… When you block out all the “romance” scenes.

  • November 14, 2015 at 2:14 am
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    ha she shut down the shippers, that means finn is probably gonna fall in love with gugu m’batha raw in episode 8

  • November 14, 2015 at 2:21 am
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    2 hr 15 min sounds perfect, especially when you chop off the five or ten minutes worth of end credits.

  • November 14, 2015 at 2:42 am
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    Disney gives us bare minimum news for the past eight to twelve months… and in the last two weeks we’ve gotten a deluge.

    • November 14, 2015 at 3:15 am
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      Yeah but just enough I think to get us excited. Theres still so much we don’t know in all fairness. Luke Skywalker number 1.

  • November 14, 2015 at 3:10 am
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    Anyone else hoping that bit where Daisy accidentally sits in H. Ford’s seat actually makes it in to the movie somehow? That would be great.

  • November 14, 2015 at 10:00 am
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    I understand why people are annoyed by getting so much information, but we don’t even know a plot here just tiny bits of information from trailers. All these interviews have done is give you information about the characters.

    • November 14, 2015 at 11:36 am
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      Yeah. I love it. But I’m getting to the point where I can tell I don’t want to hear any more from here on out. It’s very cool that I can tell exactly where I want to boy out of news for the movie. And I think it was intentional on behalf of the marketing team.

  • November 14, 2015 at 10:53 am
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    It could be the lord of the ringssort of thing, with the credits running for +20 minutes, hehe. hopefully not.

    Hated the latest Tv spot, gave away too much

  • November 14, 2015 at 11:34 am
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    Really heavy lightsaber? You mean they had some sorta mega prop for the actors? That lit up and made sounds? cool!

    • November 14, 2015 at 12:41 pm
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      “practical effects”

      But yeah, the lightsabers are as “real” as they can get, including lighting.. hope we don’t see wires akin to EPIV.

      • November 19, 2015 at 2:11 am
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        Digitally removing wires would be pretty easy.

        • November 19, 2015 at 10:23 am
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          I know, but re-watch Episode IV and you’ll see what I mean.

  • November 16, 2015 at 1:35 am
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    I love, LOVE, they are finally using illuminated lightsabers for dueling.

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