Star Wars: First 'Rogue One' teaser trailer released

The first official teaser trailer for the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story film has been released.

Watch it here:

The film, set for release on December 16, is a spin-off from the main Star Wars series. It takes place shortly before the events of 1977 film A New Hope - the first installment in the original George Lucas trilogy.

Starring British actors Felicity Jones and Riz Ahmed, as well as Mads Mikkelsen and Forest Whitaker, the film follows a Rebel mission to steal plans for the Death Star ahead of what the trailer calls a "major weapons test".

Director Gareth Edwards - the man behind the most recent version of Godzilla - said that while the film exists within the same universe, it is a "self-contained story".

"It comes down to a group of people who don’t have magical powers who band together to bring hope to the galaxy," he said in an interview last year.

Other planned spin-off movies will focus around Han Solo and Boba Fett.

Last year's revival of the franchise, directed by JJ Abrams, broke box office records and made an estimated $2 billion (£1.4bn) worldwide.