Star Wars: Episode 7 Release Update: New Concept Art Shows Lightsaber Duel, Plus X-Wing Fighters Appear in Latest Photos

Even though the release date for Star Wars Episode VII is over a year away, there's no shortage of leaks from the set. Just this past week saw a slew of new photos leak depicting very familiar spacecraft, as well as new concept art showing an epic confrontation between two lightsaber wielding figures. J.J. Abrams, the film's director, has made sure to do everything in his power to keep plot details under wraps, but he doesn't seem to have a problem with leaks like this which inform fans of what the look and feel of the film will be.

Return of the Lightsabers

Star Wars would be a shade of itself if not for George Lucas' reinventing of the concept of a 'laser sword,' and thank goodness he didn't call it that. But you can't have a Star Wars film without lightsabers, and more accurately, those lightsabers need to be clashing against each other at some point. Well, the above concept art for the film depicts just such a lightsaber confrontation. While we don't know who the two figures are fighting, or who the third figure in the foreground is, the scene looks like it will be amazing. Who could the red lightsaber-wielding dark figure be? Not sure who has the green lightsaber in the photo either, but that sure looks like Luke's lightsaber posture. Can't wait.

X-Wing Fighters

In case there was any doubt that this film was going to be a true Star Wars film and not include all the staples of what fans have come to love about the original trilogy of films, photos from the set recently leaked depicting the iconic x-wing fighter, as well as other Rebel Alliance craft from previous films. Fans will notice though that the x-wing appears to have undergone a redesign, which makes sense given that the film takes place 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi. 

And check out the dramatic black paint job on this x-wing. Could it be that the rebels finally have some fashion sense, or could this be a villain's x-wing? It's hard to say, but the craft all look amazing. If you want to see more photos from the set, including what looks like a rebel base, check out Indie Revolver's post about the photos. They don't disappoint.

Star Wars Episode VII is due out in December of 2015.