Star Wars 9: Matt Smith's character may have been revealed ahead of new trailer release

Fans think leaked image of new alien creature is former Doctor Who star

Matt Smith was reported to have joined the cast of Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker over a year ago, but nothing is currently known about his character.

Despite the British actor denying the claims, fans still believe he will show up in the new film from JJ Abrams – and think they might have sussed out who he will play thanks to leaked images of some tie-in merchandise.

Images from the official Topps trading cards version of the new Star Wars film, featuring characters old and new, have surfaced online – and Doctor Who experts are thinking that a brand new creation, shown with blue scaley skin and a masked helmet, bears a resemblance to the former Time Lord.

"As far as I know, I'm not [in it]," Smith said shortly after Variety reported he'd be appearing in the sequel that began production in August 2018. Other new cast additions include Richard E Grant, Keri Russell and Lost actor Dominic Monaghan.

Whether this unnamed alien creature is played by Smith remains to be seen, but the image of the leak certainly caused excitement on Twitter.

So sure was one user that they tweeted: "MATT SMITH IS REALLY IN THE MOVIE OMGGGGG IM SO HAPPY!"

A brand new Rise of Skywalker trailer will be released in the UK overnight during the US broadcast of Monday Night Football.

It will be the final tease before the film is released on 16 December.

Last week, it was revealed that one of the original stars of George Lucas's trilogy will be returning for a role in the new film.