Star Wars revelations come forth

The Force Awakens stars John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Chewbacca and Harrison Ford pose for a Vanity Fair cover shoot with renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz.

Star Wars Day has been celebrated with the release of plenty of juicy tantalisers about the latest addition to the movie franchise.

Photos revealing the characters Lupita Nyong'o, Adam Driver and Gwendoline Christie play were revealed.

According to the official Star Wars Twitter account, 12 Years a Slave star Nyong'o will star in The Force Awakens as Maz Kanata.

Although fans are yet to get a glimpse of the actress in action, it's reported that her character is a CGI creation and is described as a pirate.

The Force Awakens stars John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Chewbacca and Harrison Ford pose for a Vanity Fair cover shoot with renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz.

Meanwhile,

Girls

star Driver is set to play lightsaber-wielding Kylo Ren. Exact details of his role are being kept under wraps, however it's believed Kylo is a villain who commands two snowtroopers loyal to the evil First Order on the frozen plains of their secret base.

Unfortunately, though, it wasn't all good news on Star Wars Day as Josh Trank, the director of the expected spin-off series, unexpectedly dropped out of the project.

"After a year of having the incredible honour of developing with the wonderful and talented people at Lucasfilm, I'm making a personal decision to move forward on a different path," the 30-year-old director of Fantastic Four said.

He continued in a statement posted to the official website StarWars.com: "I've put a tremendous amount of thought into this, and I know deep down in my heart that I want to pursue some original creative opportunities."

Though Trank, who also directed the 2012 sci-fi movie Chronicle, has said he wants to pursue other projects, the Hollywood Reporter claims he was fired from Star Wars.

Meanwhile, Vanity Fair recently released the cover of its June issue, featuring cast from the film.

Shot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz, original star Harrison Ford is joined by his sidekick Chewbacca and newcomers Daisy Ridley and John Boyega. They are pictured on board their spacecraft, the Millennium Falcon, which is commanded by Han Solo (Ford) and Chewbacca. BB-8 can also be seen in the corner.

Plenty of behind-the-scenes photos were released yesterday in honour of May 4 (US time), known among fans of the series as Star Wars Day. "May the fourth be with you" is a play on the iconic Star Wars saying, "May the force be with you".

The Force Awakens, which opens on December 18, takes place 30 years after the events of Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).

Ford can be seen alongside a number of other original stars with whom he appeared in Star Wars Episodes IV, V, and VI.

The original Star Wars movie was released in1977.

The Force Awakens also features original stars Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) and Kenny Baker (R2-D2).

- Daily Mail