The first social media reactions to Rian Johnson's Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi are now online, following the film's world premiere in Los Angeles, CA. The highly-anticipated sequel continues the story previously established in J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens and takes the long-running franchise in new, ambitious directions, while also laying the groundwork for Abrams to return for Star Wars: Episode IX - the concluding chapter in Lucasfilm's Star Wars sequel trilogy.

Although not much is truly known about the highly-anticipated sequel at this stage, The Last Jedi has been decidedly different from the get-go, with Lucasfilm focusing on potential tantalizing twists. Of course, those details are being kept under wraps until the film hits theaters next Friday. What is known, however, is that The Last Jedi forgoes a time jump and takes place mere moments after the events of The Force Awakens, with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) finally uttering his first words on-screen since 1983's Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi.

Lucasfilm premiered Star Wars: The Last Jedi in Los Angeles tonight, and the first wave of social media reactions have now flooded online. So far, critics are saying Johnson delivers an emotional, jaw-dropping sequel that lives up to the hype. We've compiled some of the SPOILER-FREE reactions below. Take a look:

There aren’t enough words to express how much I LOVED #StarWars #TheLastJedi! It is mind-blowing! I’m in geek heaven! pic.twitter.com/unXfYMkIle— Jenna Busch (@JennaBusch) December 10, 2017

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is so very different, exciting, surprising. So many emotions, so many amazing moments. Stay away from spoilers.— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) December 10, 2017

#StarWarsTheLastJedi floored me. @rianjohnson and the team nail so much - thrills, laughs, heart and most of all, pushing the characters/overall franchise a major step forward. Some really rich material to explore in the future. Can't wait for more.— Perri Nemiroff (@PNemiroff) December 10, 2017

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is everything. Intense, funny, emotional, exciting. It’s jam-packed with absolutely jaw dropping moments and I loved it so, so much. I’m still shaking. pic.twitter.com/fHddWjo201— Germain Lussier (@GermainLussier) December 10, 2017

Impressed with #StarWars: #TheLastJedi. It makes some big, impressive and surprising moves that I definitely didn't expect. Not all of the plot stuff is exactly perfect, but the character work is once again fantastic, and it's just amazing to see Luke Skywalker back in action.— Eric Eisenberg (@eeisenberg) December 10, 2017

There’s a scene in #StarWars #TheLastJedi that I keep playing over and over in my head, that is so stunning and unexpected that I don’t want to forget how I felt seeing it for the first time. This movie feels unlike any other Star Wars movie in all the ways I hoped. pic.twitter.com/zlDW4yOjp2— Terri Schwartz (@Terri_Schwartz) December 10, 2017

#TheLastJedi is absolutely fantastic - gripping, touching, funny and powerful w/ gorgeous shots and the most badass battles. When it gets going, holy crap does it get going. Hands down the best #StarWars movie since Empire pic.twitter.com/nWWAhlNMJo— ErikDavis (@ErikDavis) December 10, 2017

To CLARIFY: I liked #TheLastJedi very much. I just didn’t love it. It has some great #StarWars moments, but it’s too slow, it’s too long, and it doesn’t take any chances. It’s all very familiar, which should make diehard fans happy. I guess. pic.twitter.com/n8sHncskHT— Scott Mantz (@MovieMantz) December 10, 2017

Star Wars: The Last Jedi clocks in at 2 hours 31 minutes, thus making it the longest Star Wars movie ever released. In fact, an early cut of The Last Jedi was over 3 hours long, but trimming assembly cuts down is standard operating procedure for blockbuster movie directors - and Johnson wanted the sharpest movie he could make. Sadly, Carrie Fisher's passing in 2016 means The Last Jedi will be her last Star Wars movie, which meant Johnson had to get creative with the film's editing to conclude Princess Leia's (now General Leia) story arc.

Lucasfilm's confidence in The Last Jedi goes above and beyond typical releases, as they've now handed the reins of an entirely new Star Wars trilogy to Johnson to play around with, creating the first set of Star Wars films unconnected to the overarching Skywalker saga. No one has had that much creative freedom with what is considered the world's biggest media brand since George Lucas himself. So, Johnson hopes that critics and audiences alike enjoy this film so that he can move forward with his new trilogy relatively stress-free.

More: Every Star Wars: The Last Jedi Trailer & Clip

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