The director of the ninth and final episode of the Star Wars saga, JJ Abrams,  has revealed that the title of the film will be The Rise of Skywalker.

At a fan event in Chicago, attended by cast members, the first trailer of footage from the film was shown, revealing clues about the plot.

Many familiar faces return, including Daisy Ridley’s Rey, Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren and Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron from the current trilogy of the saga, as well as figures from the earlier films, including the droid C-3PO and Lando Calrissian, one of the main characters from Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back.

But one of the most noteworthy appearances was Princess Leia, played by Carrie Fisher, who died suddenly in December 2016, shortly after finishing the filming for Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. Abrams managed to continue the character with unused footage from the previous episode, The Force Awakens. Speaking at the event, Abrams said it was a “weird miracle” to be working with Carrie Fisher again. “She’s so alive in the scenes and the craziest part is how not crazy it feels. Princess Leia lives in this film in a way that’s kind of mind-blowing for me.”

Among the tag lines peppering the trailer, we’re told “The Saga Comes to an End.”

The highly anticipated conclusion to the Star Wars saga, 8 episodes and 42 years on from the first introduction of Luke Skywalker to cinema audiences, will be released in December.