Star Wars fans have finally caught a glimpse of the worst kept secret from the upcoming Star Wars spin-off, Rogue One, after a new trailer ended with a shot of Darth Vader.
The Dark Lord of the Sith made his appearance in the trailer watched by thousands of fans at the Star Wars Celebration event in London. They saw a brief glimpse of him in silhouette at the end of the trailer with his trademark heavy breathing, while examining what appears to be map.
Rumours about Vader's return began with the release of the movie's first trailer a few months ago and then last month Entertainment Weekly finally splashed the news across the cover of its last edition.
If the fans reaction yesterday was one of delight, it only paled in comparison to the response from director Gareth Edwards when filming the scenes. He told the crowd yesterday that he went full Meg Ryan and had a "nerd-gasm" when filming with Darth Vader voiceover actor James Earl Jones who recorded his dialogue last December.
Jones, who's now 85, voiced Vader in the original films, including 1977's A New Hope, as well as Revenge Of The Sith.
Edwards told the crowd that he "got a very early Christmas present" after they finished filming in December.
"I got straight on a plane to New York to do a voiceover recording with a gentleman called James Earl Jones", he revealed to cheers from the audience and joked "Now, I can't tell you what role he plays in the film because I don't want to give that away."
He also said he shared a fan moment with the movie's sound designer when they heard Jones' booming voice in the studio.
"We just looked at each other and had this nerd-gasm. We were reduced to three-year-olds," he explained.
While Vader will be making a welcome return to the franchise, he’s not the main villain. That accolade goes to a white-cloaked character, Director Orson Krennic, played by Ben Mendelsohn.
The poster for the film shows a beach battle taking place on the planet Scarif (not the east Co. Clare village we're assured) with the Death Star looming in the sky.
During the screening Star Wars fans were treated to new behind-the-scenes footage providing glimpses of Stormtroopers, Rebel fighters and plenty of explosions.
And to the delight of fans, Felicity Jones's character Jyn Erso is shown saying: "May the Force be with us."
At a panel discussion featuring other cast members including Mads Mikkelsen, Diego Luna and Forest Whitaker, Jones revealed that there was an element of Harrison Ford's Han Solo in Jyn.
"She's got a pretty cool Han Solo gun belt, inspired by Han Solo.The main difference would be that Jyn, she's not a character who's asking, 'Who am I and where have I come from?' ....we know where she's come from, and that fact is what propels the story..", she said.
Rogue One is the first standalone movie in the Star Wars anthology and is due for release in December.
