"Star Wars VII" isn't out until December of next year, but you might as well get started on your marathons now. Yet rather than watch the much-derided prequel trilogy, we've got a solution: "Star Wars Episode I" through "Episode III" in only two hours and 40 minutes. The recut, "Turn to the Dark Side -- Episode 3.1," includes the most compelling aspects of the three films with plot pieces removed to create a stronger focus on the relationship between Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala. Essentially, as the video description says, it's all the good action with a lot less Jar Jar Binks.

Double Digit, who created the new video, told HuffPost Entertainment that as a huge "Star Wars" fan, they wanted to find a way to make the films "more of a swashbuckling space opera with less exposition and satellite characters." The filmmaker, who is a graphic designer by trade, heard about Topher Grace's famous 85-minute "Star Wars" prequel recut and was inspired to make their own.

An original version of "Turn to the Dark Side" was posted online back in May, but due to fair use issues, the video was taken down within 48 hours by Vimeo. This ended up proving beneficial, since Double Digit took viewer comments into consideration to re-edit the video. Finally, Double Digit uploaded a new and improved recut, which Vimeo decided not to flag, with even more action and a more coherent plot than the previous version. The creator told us that the most keen viewers will be able to figure out Double Digit's identity if they watch the video closely. Check out the recut above.

H/T The Playlist Source: [url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/22/star-wars-prequel-recut_n_6030512.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news&ir=Weird+News]This 'Star Wars' Recut Lets You Watch The Prequel Trilogy In Under Three Hours[/url]