Basically the same length as Ken Branagh's version then. I wonder how the two will compare.

redders | July 28, 16:33 CET

Oh wow, that's really long. Somehow I expected it to be short.

J.I.G. | July 28, 16:33 CET

Music by Joss Whedon? I thought Jed was doing that.

Jaymii | July 28, 16:38 CET

Jed and Mo did a song, I think. Joss did the score.

pat32082 | July 28, 16:41 CET

@redders: Kenneth Branagh's work displays the kind of awe that a student has for his master. My prediction is that Joss' take on the material will radiate a passion and excitement well known to us here: the kind that can only come from a fan.

Bishop | July 28, 17:16 CET

pat32082, Ahhhh. Yes. Sorry.

Jaymii | July 28, 17:19 CET

A reasonable length. The full play would probably take three hours or so on stage, so he's made judicious cuts, but hasn't sliced it out of all recognition.

A film-critic friend who's a virtual stranger to the Whedonverses promises to try to see this at TIFF. His take should be interesting, since he'll have no preconceptions for the actors.

Maeve | July 28, 17:46 CET

107 minutes is not really long. It's less than two hours.

The One True b!X | July 28, 18:01 CET

By comparison to The Avengers (143 minutes) that is short!

Whedonage | July 28, 18:33 CET

Jaymii did you miss his panels during Comic Con? He announced he was doing the score to huge applause (granted, everything he says gets huge applause at Comic Con :P)

D-e-f- | July 28, 19:50 CET

I am more excited about this film then I was about Cabin or Avengers.... And that's saying something haha

lisatwingomez | July 28, 20:15 CET

D-e-f-, I did. When I had time to watch, only the Nerd HQ panel was up, so I watched that and Firefly. Might go back to watch the SDCC one if it has lots of different stuff.

Jaymii | July 28, 20:21 CET

I was expecting shorter too, I guess just because of how quick the production was.

Ozzel | July 28, 22:25 CET

I don't know how you could make a Shakespeare movie for all that much shorter than 1 hour 47 minutes. One worth watching, anyway.

The One True b!X | July 28, 22:43 CET

That's pretty darned short.

redeem147 | July 28, 23:49 CET

Well, no slight against Branagh's version but I think Joss probably chose not to have the opening bit where the main leads ride up to Leonato's villa, since that took up a few minutes of Branagh version ;D

BlueEyedBrigadier | July 29, 00:12 CET

Dark and Sexy? I am extremely looking forward to this! Hopefully I'll get to see it before the end of next year lol!

eddy | July 29, 02:06 CET

Actually, I've always seen it as a "never ending" story. Repeat and repeat again. 'Course, that's just me.

Madhatter | July 29, 07:10 CET

Kenneth Branagh's work displays the kind of awe that a student has for his master.

I don't really see that. If I read that without knowing the film I'd expect it to be an over-earnest attempt at giving us "traditional" Shakespeare and it's really anything but that. Branagh's film is truly a film--the camera-work is beautiful (I still wonder how they pulled off that long final shot--precisely the kind of long oner, actually, that Joss himself likes to try to pull off. Moreover, he takes a lot of risks in casting (some of which work spectacularly, one of which fails spectacularly [I'm looking at you, Keanu]) and in the way he gives the actors full scope to explore their own approaches to their parts (Michael Keaton, for example).

Branagh's Much Ado is a really terrific film. I have every confidence that Joss's will be too. I'm happy to be in a world where both versions will be available.

Yoink | July 30, 21:46 CET