Is Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 3D?

So you want to go see Star Wars: The Force Awakens in more than two dimensions. But is the movie showing in 3D?

Is Star Wars: The Force Awakens showing in 3D? Let’s see, is this in fact the middle of second decade of the 21st century? Exactly. Of course Star Wars: The Force Awakens is showing in 3D.

We should quickly talk about the entire 3D experience in a modern theater, for those who may not have partaken in it as of yet. If you’re pictures the flimsy little cardboard blue and red glasses and some hokey 1970s style flash, I’m here to tell you that’s not how it works anymore. Yes, the movies still rely on stereoscopic photography. But since the mid-1980, the approximate geometry that was used to create 3D movies in earlier eras was pushed out when IMAX began to emphasize mathematical correctness in the 3D rendition. Furthermore, IMAX, being such a larger canvas size for the film (70mm, instead of 35mm) gave much larger playing field for the effects. This is also why many times when you look up 3D movies you’ll notice most of the time they are paired with IMAX showing. IMAX is largely responsible for the 3D era were are currently experiencing.

These moves did a lot to eliminate the eyestrain and headaches that earlier filmgoers experienced when watching 3D movies. Combine that with use of HD video cameras to capture in 3D instead of film, and the use of what is called “alternate-eye shutterglass technology” instead of those old red and blue glasses, and you have what we see today on screen. Still, there are those for whom the entire idea of 3D is simply wrong. Roger Ebert famously called it “A waste of a perfectly good dimension.”

Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be the first of the Star Wars franchise to debut in this format. (Disney attempted to reformat the 1999 prequels to 3D when they first purchased Lucasfilm in 2012, but only The Phantom Menace was released before they scrapped it.) J.J Abrams, who prior to this movie was not a big fan of 3D effects in movies, is backing the 3D version as well. As The Hollywood Reporter explains,  part of what changed his mind for The Force Awakens is that when he watched back reels “I actually felt that there were things that were playing better in 3D. I had never felt that before.”

Perhaps this will help convert those who have been holding out against 3D movies as well.

Next: Is Star Wars: The Force Awakens in IMAX

Check out the entire Star Wars Force Awakens cast list.