With Disney's big D23 Expo event happening across this past weekend, you knew the company would go big with its latest Star Wars movie, The Rise Of Skywalker. And while the film surprisingly opened the Saturday morning main studio presentation instead of closing it, the Mouse House certainly didn't skimp on the sizzle, bringing a new quick reel of footage and a poster which, following D23 tradition, was given out to attendees.
This being Star Wars, and particularly with JJ Abrams back at the helm, the footage has naturally not been put online, but featured some tantalising imagery. For those of a spoiler-nervous disposition, you may wish to skip the next paragraph.
Still want to know what was shown? Right you are... The reel kicked off with images from all the previous films before showing several quick flashes of footage: Rey and Kylo Ren dueling atop a crashed spaceship half-submerged in stormy seas (the image that is used, albeit with a space background, on the poster, a huge fleet of classic series Star Destroyers, John Boyega's Finn and Naomi Ackie's new character Jannah together in a cockpit, C-3PO with glowing red eyes and some of the main characters heading for a desert city. But the topper was the image that generated the most buzz: Daisy Ridley's Rey, clad in a black cloak, wielding a fold-down dual lightsaber glowing a furious Sith red. A vision? A portent of things to come? Abrams being tricksy? We'll have to wait and see.
If you're itching to see the footage for yourself, you may not have long to wait, as it should be arriving online – officially – on Monday.
Abrams brought the majority of his main cast on stage, including new arrivals Ackie and Keri Russell (who described her character Zorri as "very cool and a little bit shady. She’s kind of a criminal and old friend of Poe’s."
Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker will be out in UK cinemas on 19 December.