With today being a celebration of ‘Star Wars,’ what better way to celebrate than learning some awesome new information about ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘? Sure, the news that J.J. Abrams wants to kill Jar Jar Binks in his upcoming film is pretty great, but we also learn who some of the biggest stars in Hollywood today are playing when they journey to a galaxy far, far away.

First, Vanity Fair started the day by confirming rumors concerning Kylo Ren, the mysterious Sith with the polarizing three-pronged lightsaber that we saw in the first teaser for ‘Episode VII’. The publication revealed that the villain is indeed ‘Girls’ star Adam Driver and they shared a picture of the actor without his helmet as he is flanked by Snowtroopers, who are fellow First Order loyalists. Not much is known about the First Order, but judging by their members shown in this Annie Leibovitz picture, they’re most likely the next evolution of the Empire:

Next, Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o is shown sporting tracking dots on her face so that the wizards at Industrial Light & Magic can transform her into Maz Kanata. It’s unclear where her allegiances lie in this universe, but another picture mentions that Maz is a pirate with a castle that welcomes all sorts of “galactic travelers, smugglers, and other assorted riffraff”:

Then, while we have seen these heroes before, the magazine offers new looks at Daisy Ridley’s Rey on her speeder and Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron with his trusty X-wing fighter:

Finally, in a separate article posted after the image from the next issue of the magazine had leaked, we receive confirmation that Gwendoline Christie will indeed be playing First Order officer Captain Phasma. The “Chrometrooper” was first seen walking down a hallway in the second trailer for ‘The Force Awakens’, but now we see her surveying the rubble following an attack:

And as a special bonus, here is an excellent shot of some of the very influential people that are making ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ possible: composer John Williams, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, and director J.J. Abrams.

This is all certainly a lot to take in, but what do you think about the latest revelations from ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’? Which characters are you most excited to see? And how do you think they’ll play into the grand scheme of things? Share your thoughts and theories in the comments.

‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ starring John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow, Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker hits theaters on December 18, 2015.