Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker director JJ Abrams clarifies the movie's runtime

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker won't be quite as long as many fans were expecting.

Last month, US cinemas published screening times indicating that the ninth and final instalment of the Skywalker Saga would be the longest Star Wars movie ever, clocking in at 155 minutes.

As it turns out, this figure was either based on conjecture or estimates from an unfinished cut of The Rise of Skywalker. On Monday (November 25), director JJ Abrams confirmed to EW Radio that the movie will clock in at "2 hours and 21 minutes", give or take another minute for additional credits.

This runtime will actually put The Rise of Skywalker behind 2017's The Last Jedi, which was released in cinemas with a cut of 152 minutes.

Abrams's comments on Monday put an end to months of speculation about the runtime because he has also confirmed that he finished post-production work on The Rise of Skywalker with 24 days to go before release.

During a separate appearance on Good Morning America, he was asked by presenter George Stephanopoulos if the movie was "done".

"Just! Yesterday," Abrams confirmed. "Yes, it's done. It's done. Now, people have to see it… This [reshooting] happened last time as well.

"You see something, and you think, 'That could be a little clearer. That could be a little bit better'. If you have the ability to fix the piece. You take advantage of that."

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has a release date of Thursday, December 19 in the UK and Friday, December 20 in the US.

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Justin Harp

Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.