17 awesome photos from the set of the next 'Star Wars' movie

Kirsten Acuna

May 4, 2015, 20:33 IST

Happy May 4th!

Monday marks "Star Wars Day," a day to celebrate all things about a galaxy far, far away.

To celebrate, here are a handful of set images from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" which debuted at April's Star Wars Celebration event along with a few new images from Vanity Fair's behind-the-scenes video of its Star Wars cover shoot.

Here's director J.J. Abrams filming on set.

Lucasfilm

The team filmed on the hot desert sands of Abu Dhabi. Abrams said it would get to be 128 degrees while shooting.

Lucasfilm

Daisy Ridley, who plays Rey, is seen below with the new droid BB8. Ridley gave a few more details on her character, saying she's a scavenger who we will first see in a ship graveyard.

Lucasfilm

BB8 is a lot smaller than we imagined.

Lucasfilm

Here's Ridley again getting some cues from director Abrams.

daisy ridley jj abrams the force awakens

Vanity Fair

In the first teaser trailer for "The Force Awakens," we see Ridley riding across a desert on the vehicle below.

Vanity Fair

Oscar Isaac will play an X-wing pilot named Poe Dameron.

Lucasfilm

Lucasfilm

John Boyega's mysterious character Finn can be seen wearing a stormtrooper suit. It's still not confirmed whether or not Finn is a stormtrooper or is just dressed like one in the film.

Lucasfilm

Lucasfilm

Speaking of Stormtroopers, here are some of the new Snowtroopers.

snowtroopers star wars the force awakens

Vanity Fair

Here's another look at the three actors, Oscar Isaac, Daisy Ridley, and John Boyega.

Lucasfilm

Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o will also play a new character on screen. If the motion-capture suit is any hint, she'll be playing something out of this world. According to Vanity Fair, she will play a pirate Maz Kanata.

Vanity Fair

Some of the original cast members will be back, too. Here's Harrison Ford with the newest leads, Ridley and Boyega. It looks like he may be picking the duo up on the Millennium Falcon.