New Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer - First look at Princess Leia plus a ton of dogfighting

The most intense, action-filled trailer yet dropped during ESPN's Monday Night Football

Following teasers earlier in the week and the unveiling of the official poster, Star Wars: The Force Awakens has dropped a new trailer.

It's undoubtedly the most intense and rousing one yet, offering the best glimpses of the Resistance's battle with the First Order.

Han Solo fans will be heartened to find that the smuggler seems to feature heavily in the film, guiding new heroes Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Finn (John Boyega).

Rey talks about having heard "stories" pertaining to events from the earlier films in the trailer, to which Han replies: "It's true. All of it - the Dark Side, the Jedi, they're real."

Adam Driver's menacing antagonist Kylo Ren also gets a lot of screen time, looking upon Darth Vader's crumbling mask and promising to "finish what you started".

The two-minute 35-second montage also yields our first look at Carrie Fisher back as Princess Leia, who is embraced by Han (Harrison Ford) as Resistance pilots head off to fight.

There are some jaw-dropping dogfights between X-Wings and TIE Fighters, along with a pleasingly nostalgic visual of the Millennium Falcon jumping to light speed.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens in UK cinemas on 17 December and US cinemas on 18 December - here's where to buy tickets.