This news has been coming out over the last few days but we’ve been waiting for more details to emerge before we report on it. Yes, it appears that we finally have some details on the villains of STAR WARS: EPISODE VII, including some impressive new images. It goes without saying, but there be those pesky spoilers ahead, although treat all of this as rumour for the time being.

First up, IndieRevolver has gotten hold of images of the new Stormtrooper designs that we’ll see in J.J. Abrams’ EPISODE VII, as shown below.

The gossip, from IndieRevolver and Latino Review, is that the first design, shown in the first time image, is what we’ll see used as the standard Stormtrooper helmet. As for the second image, this design will be used by a branch of Stormtroopers known as Snowtroopers. Despite the generic background in the picture, these guys will be patrolling snowy landscapes… complete with flamethrowers! If that doesn’t sound menacing enough, there’s supposedly another variation of Stormtrooper that has a chrome outfit that allows them to cloak. So we’ll have standard Stormtroopers, ones armed with flamethrowers, and ones that can make themselves invisible? Sounds like EPISODE VII is definitely upping the ante on the Stormtrooper front. That said, just who the Stormtroopers will serve is a big question of its own, depending on how things will have played out after the events of RETURN OF THE JEDI. Now it’s time to move on to the big fish…

We’ve already heard plenty of rumours that the movie will open with Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber and possibly hand being found by Daisy Ridley and John Boyega’s characters. This leads to the duo going on a search to find Skywalker; a search that leads them to Han Solo and Chewbacca. It’s said that Han and Chewie are no longer in possession of the Millennium Falcon – that now belongs to Oscar Isaac’s character – and haven’t seen Luke since just after the events of RETURN OF THE JEDI. Word is now coming out that Luke hasn’t been doing a Ben Kenobi act and gone in to hiding, instead he’s actually been captured and held prisoner. And that’s where some new villains come into the picture.

The latest news on who has been holding Master Skywalker is that it’s actually a group of Inquisitors. Why does that name ring a bell, we hear you say? That’s because the Inquisitors are not only a group of characters from the Expanded Universe (which is now non-canon) but The Inquisitor is the main villain of the upcoming STAR WARS REBELS animated series. These EPISODE VII Inquisitors are said to have existed for many, many years, as Luke then takes the movie to flashback territory, showing just how the Inquisitors have been tied to the Sith over the years. Not only that, but this flashback brings about a look at a younger Princess Leia (played by Carrie Fisher’s daughter, Billie Lourd) and a certain asthmatic-sounding villain. Yes, that’s right, Darth Vader, kids! Vader will be seen briefly, in flashback form, and with a team of Inquisitors serving under him. And speaking of Vader, the above piece of leaked concept art shows what appears to be some sort of half-cyborg Inquisitor holding the broken helmet of the former Anakin Skywalker.

As mentioned right at the top of this post, treat all of this stuff as rumour for now, although it’s said that several laid-off members of EPISODE VII’s production are the guys behind the leaks. How true that is, we’ll have to wait and see.

Directed by J.J. Abrams, STAR WARS: EPISODE VII is set for a December 18th, 2016 release.

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