Although there has been much speculation over the last few months, Disney has finally confirmed a few details regarding the next instalment in the Star Wars saga – but given that it is being helmed by J.J. Abrams, chances are that this will be pretty much all we hear for some time.

Talking to Disney’s annual shareholder meeting, Bob Iger confirmed that the movie will start shooting in London in May this year, with a release date of December 18, 2015. The as yet untitled seventh film will be set 30 years after Return of the Jedi (not so coincidentally the time that has elapsed in the real world), leading to expectations that Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford will be returning to their iconic roles. However, the only definitely confirmed character is R2-D2 – although Iger noted that there will be “familiar faces including a trio of young leads”.

Read our review of the recent Star Wars prequel novel, Maul: Lockdown here