Star Wars: Rogue One trailer delights fans with glimpse of Darth Vader

Darth Vader is set to make a return to the big screen in the next Star Wars film.

Rapturous fans found out about the sci-fi villain’s long-awaited renaissance at the Star Wars Celebration event in London today.

A trailer for the latest film, shown to the large audience, ends with a shot of the Sith Lord and his trademark heavy breathing,

The director of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Gareth Edwards, also confirmed the news in a panel discussion about the new movie.

Mr Edwards said he got a “very early Christmas present” when he met voice-over actor James Earl Jones – who voiced Vader in the original trilogy - for filming last year.

The British director said: “We finished filming in December and I got straight on a plane to New York to do a voiceover recording with a gentleman called James Earl Jones."

To cheers from the audience, Mr Edwards joked: "Now, I can't tell you what role he plays in the film because I don't want to give that away."

The director also took sound designer Matt Wood from Skywalker Sound into the studio - and said that they shared a fan moment when they heard Jones's booming voice say the word "power".

"We just looked at each other and had this nerdgasm. We were reduced to three-year-olds," he said.

"And then he looked back and we were like: 'That's great, James - let's just do it one more time."'

Star Wars fans were treated to new behind-the-scenes footage providing glimpses of Stormtroopers, Rebel fighters and plenty of explosions.

Echoing a familiar line, Felicity Jones's character Jyn Erso is shown saying: "May the Force be with us."

Rogue One is the first standalone movie in the Star Wars anthology. Set in the Star Wars universe, it slots into the timeline before A New Hope and follows a group of rebel spies and their mission to steal the plans for the evil Galactic Empire's new weapon, the Death Star.