'Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker' toys reveal two new characters

While Lucasfilm, J.J. Abrams, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega say precisely nothing about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, as usual it's left to toy makers to spill the beans.

Next week, on October 4, an event called Triple Force Friday will see vast swathes of new Star Wars merchandise hit the shelves, and yesterday a lavish preview of some of the goodies was posted online via the official Star Wars YouTube channel.

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Broadcast from Pinewood Studios like an upscale QVC show, a host of Star Wars stars turned up to help hawk the wares, including Ridley, Boyega, Oscar Isaac (aka Poe Dameron), Kelly Marie Tran (aka Rose Tico), Joona Suotamo (aka Chewbacca), Billy Dee Williams (aka Lando Calrissian) and C-3PO himself, Anthony Daniels.

Also in the house were newcomers Naomie Ackie and Keri Russell, who will play the characters of Jannah and Zorri.

Russell appeared with Isaac as she was introduced to the action figure of her character, which appears in full armour and bounty hunter-style helmet.

“I can't wait for you to meet Zorri. She's very cool and a little bit shady. She's kind of a criminal and sort of this old friend of Poe's,” she said.

Ackie's character Jannah, meanwhile, per the marketing bumf, comes 'from an oceanic moon' and 'leads a band of warriors, ready to charge against the forces of the First Order'.

An update on Tran's Rose Tico has also been unveiled, stating that she has 'risen through the ranks from lowly engineering support crew to military commander'.

“She leads the Engineering Corps in making the necessary modifications to keep the Resistance's gear operational, as well as countering new advancements in First Order technology,” the new info explains.

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Then in a studio with Suotamo, Williams and Daniels, new Lego figures are revealed of characters called Boolio and Babu Frik.

Alien creature Boolio - a pilot perhaps? - comes included in the new Lego Millennium Falcon set, so could feature in a key role in this final Star Wars chapter.

Boyega, who appears in this segment of the broadcast, goes notably quiet, adding: “Oh yeah, can’t talk about Boolio.”

It could all be a red herring, of course.

Meanwhile, the tiny Babu Frik, who Daniels describes as one of his 'truly favourite characters', is a 'droid builder' who comes with the new C-3PO figurine.

It's all tantalising stuff, and decidedly more than we've been getting from the filmmakers themselves, but then merchandise is a massively important revenue stream for the franchise, so money talks.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker arrives in the UK on December 19.