The latest trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has given fans a long-awaited glimpse of Darth Vader.
The trailer, shown to thousands of fans at the Star Wars Celebration event in London, ends with a shot of Vader and his trademark heavy breathing.
Director Gareth Edwards revealed James Earl Jones, who voiced Vader in the original trilogy, will be back in the new film.
The veteran actor recorded his dialogue in New York last December.
Edwards said recording the dialogue had been “like an early Christmas present”.
He described how he and his sound recordist had a “nerd-gasm” when they heard Jones say the word “power” in his deep, distinctive voice.
“We said, ‘that’s great – let’s do that one more time.'”
The poster for the film shows a beach battle taking place on the planet Scarif – with the Death Star looming in the sky.
Rogue One tells the story of a group of rebel fighters on a mission to steal the plans for the Death Star.
The film, out in December, is the first in a series of on-screen adventures exploring stories outside the core Star Wars saga.
It is set before the first part of the original series, Episode IV: A New Hope.
Vader’s appearance had been rumoured for some time, but Lucasfilm only confirmed the Sith Lord’s inclusion last month, giving no more details.
Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said Rogue One was going to be an “incredibly immersive experience”.
Edwards also introduced behind-the-scenes footage from the film during the Rogue One panel at the ExCel exhibition centre.
The reel ended with British actress Felicity Jones, who plays Jyn Erso, saying: “May the Force be with us.”
Jones was joined on stage by a number of cast members including Riz Ahmed, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen and Ben Mendelsohn.
Mendelsohn, who plays villain Director Krennick, had arrived in costume – flanked by stormtroopers. He described his character as a “smarter villain than most of his predecessors”.
The panel began with the host Gwendoline Christie, who played Captain Phasma in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, making reference to Thursday’s terror attack in Nice.
“Our hearts go out to people in Nice and in France,” she said.
Earlier in the day, Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill said new Star Wars film Episode VIII contained “so many great catchphrases”.
He recently finished filming on the sequel, which comes out in 2017.
Hamill told fans: “There is dialogue in there I can see on T-shirts. You will forget all about May The Force Be With You.”
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Source: BBC