Ten things we have learnt about Star Wars: A Force Awakens

The Force Awakens is set around 30 years after Luke Skywalker and the Rebel Alliance defeated the Galactic Empire in 1983's Return of the Jedi.

It will focus on new heroes, Rey and Finn, as they team up with the older characters from the original trilogy to battle Kylo Ren and his army of 'First Order' Stormtroopers.

The story will also differ from Star Wars creator George Lucas's vision for a series of sequels.

Lucas sold the rights to Disney in a $4billion deal in October 2012 and the studio said it wanted to go in a different direction to make a movie 'for the fans'.

2. The new heroes

Rey is played by newcomer Daisy Ridley in The Force Awakens. Although the 23-year-old London actor plays a central role in the film little is known about her character.

What we do know is that she is a scavenger who trades junk leftover from old battles with the Empire before she finds her calling.

Finn is played by John Boyega who is known for Joe Cornish's Attack The Block.

He starts as a Stormtrooper but he meets Rey when he defects to join the Resistance.

Finn is also said to take possession of Luke Skywalker's lightsaber suggesting he has the potential to become a Jedi.

3. The villain

Kylo Ren, portrayed by Adam Driver, is obsessed with the iconic fallen villain of the original trilogy, Darth Vader, and even speaks to his melted mask.

He instantly made an impression in the trailers with his red 'broadsaber'.

But what will be more interesting to find out is how Andy Serkis's shadowy Supreme Leader Snoke comes into the story who is commanding Ren from behind the scenes.

4. The old heroes

Expect a big wave of nostalgia at the cinema as The Force Awakens reunites Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker as Han Solo, Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2-D2.

They are among many familiar faces set to return.

5. But what about Luke Skywalker?

Mark Hamill is among the top billed names in the film but little is known about his character Luke Skywalker's part in the film.

Director J.J. Abrams has said that his absence from the trailers has been deliberate leading to all kinds of speculation. Is he living in exile? Has he turned to the Dark Side? Only one way to find out.

6. The planet

This is Star Wars so the action will take fans all over the universe but one of the main locations that has been revealed is a desert planet.

Many fans mistook it for Luke Skywalker's home of Tatooine but it is actually a planet called Jakku, filled with John Ford-esque landscapes and the ruins of old battles between the Rebels and the Empire.

The Jakku scenes were filmed in Abu Dhabi.

7. The new droid

We have yet to see the film but new robot companion BB-8 has already captured the world's hearts.

The silver and orange 'astromech' droid rolls around on a spherical body and communicates in bleeps like R2-D2.

A miniature version of BB-8, costing upwards of £100, will also find its way under many Christmas trees this month.

But we have yet to find out what R2-D2 and C-3PO make of their limelight stealing counterpart.

8. The Resistance and The First Order

Thirty years have passed and so the politics of the Star Wars universe have moved on too.

After the events of Return of the Jedi, the Galactic Empire has fallen but a new threat called The First Order has emerged from the remnants.

9. The team behind the film

The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams is best known for his Star Trek reboot and its sequel Into Darkness.

He also helped bring numerous TV series to the screen like Lost, Alias and Fringe.

Producer Kathleen Kennedy worked on classics like Schindler's List, Jurassic Park and Back to the Future.

But the masterstroke has been getting the excellent Lawrence Kasdan back who wrote the screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

10. The supporting cast

All the attention is on Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and the reunited actors from the original trilogy but there are a lot of talented stars among the supporting cast.

Critically acclaimed motion capture actor Andy Serkis is the mysterious Supreme Leader Snoke, Oscar Isaac is X-Wing pilot Poe Dameron, Game of Thrones' Gwendoline Christie is Star Wars' first female villain Captain Phasma and Domhnall Gleeson is The First Order's General Hux.

Meanwhile, little is known about 12 Years A Slave's Lupita Nyong'o's role as alien Maz Kanata, who is believed to have a power linked to the Force.

- The Force Awakens is on at Odeon Warrington on Thursday at 7pm, 8pm, 9pm, 9.45pm, 10.15pm and 11.15pm in 3D and 7.30pm, 8.30pm, 9.30pm and 10.45pm in 2D