How Long Are Han, Luke & Leia Actually Together Onscreen?
In the leadup to the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, star John Boyega threw a little shade at previous film The Last Jedi for not bringing the trio of Rey, Finn & Poe together until the final minutes of the film. Boyega wanted their Sequel Trilogy dynamic to mirror that of the amazing chemistry Han, Luke & Leia had in the Original Trilogy… but is that a little misleading?
“It was hard for all of us, because we were separated,” Boyega said in an interview with Hypebeast. “I guess the original Star Wars films there was much more of a trio feel where it was essentially about Luke’s journey, but Han and Leia there was a strong dynamic. I don’t know how quickly we’re going to be able to establish that long-term dynamic with [Episode] Nine. I do feel even after three films still, we don’t know them as much as we got to know Han, Luke, Leia. And maybe that’s a great opportunity to get to know them a little more.”
Mark Hamill also expressed similar concerns about Han, Luke & Leia not appearing together in the ST to Den of Geek earlier this year, stating, “I just thought, Luke’s never going to see his best friend again. You look at it in a self-centered way. I said that it was a big mistake that those three people would never reunite in any way. I guess I was wrong, because nobody seems to care! I have to stipulate that I care, but it didn’t really seem to affect the larger audience. Luke, Han and Leia will never be together again, and I’ll probably never get to work with Harrison again.”
Obviously people love and adore the OT Trio, and in fact they recently made the top of our “Who Are The Best Movie Trio” poll! But were they together all that much? Luke and Han were together a bunch in A New Hope, while Han and Leia forged their romance over the course of Empire Strikes Back, and they all were together off-and-on throughout Return of the Jedi.
We decided to actually take a stopwatch and see how much screentime the full trio has together throughout the OT, and it is WAY LESS than you actually remember. WAY WAY LESS. And no, we did not include The Star Wars Christmas Special. Keep in mind this is a rough eyeball estimate, and it is based on actual full scenes featuring the three characters, as opposed to individual shots…
How Long Are Han, Luke & Leia Actually Together Onscreen?
A New Hope (1977): 10.5 minutes
The Empire Strikes Back (1980): 1.5 minutes
Return of the Jedi (1983): 10.5 minutes
So there you have it. Out of the 377 minutes of the first three movies in George Lucas’ Trilogy, only 22.5 of those minutes feature Han, Luke & Leia in scenes together. So, about 6% of those three movies. That is not to take away from the power of their chemistry or the impact they had, but we imagine much of the collective pop culture memory of them together comes from promotional material or simply the good vibes they gave off in their short time adventuring in those three movies. It seems fair to guess that Obi-Wan, Anakin and Padme share a similar amount of screentime in the Prequels, but they had little chemistry or shared experience/bonding as a trio. There’s no shot of those three hugging after a big battle, etc.
While we have yet to stopwatch the screentime Rey, Finn & Poe have together in The Rise of Skywalker, we imagine that -paired with the minute-and-change they spend in The Last Jedi scenes- the time count is comparable to the OT Trio’s screentime. Whether it has a similar impact is up for debate and time to ultimately decide, but Daisy Ridley, John Boyega & Oscar Isaac are still young and could always be reunited down the road. We unfortunately can’t say the same of Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill & the late Carrie Fisher, so all we can do is cherish the short time they had together onscreen.
RELATED: POLL RESULTS: Who Are The Best Movie Trio?
Returning cast members for The Rise of Skywalker include Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo and Billie Lourd. Joining the cast are Naomi Ackie (Doctor Who), Richard E. Grant (Logan), Dominic Monaghan (Lord of the Rings), and Keri Russell (The Americans), who will also be joined by veteran Star Wars actors Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels and Billy Dee Williams, who will reprise his role as Lando Calrissian. The role of Leia Organa will once again be played by Carrie Fisher, using previously unreleased footage shot for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
In addition to directing, Abrams co-wrote the screenplay with Chris Terrio (Argo, Justice League). Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, and Abrams will produce, with Callum Greene and Jason McGatlin executive producing. Composer John Williams, who has scored every chapter in the Star Wars saga since 1977’s A New Hope, will return to a galaxy far, far away with Rise of Skywalker.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is now playing in theaters everywhere!
