Star Wars: Force Awakens In New Trailer

The second trailer for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens has been released to a packed audience in California.

Fans were thrilled when stars from the eagerly-awaited film made a surprise appearance at the four-day Star Wars Celebration at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill joined director JJ Abrams on stage to promote the blockbuster, due out on 18 December.

Harrison Ford, who reprises his role as Han Solo, was at home recovering from his recent plane crash .

The Lucasfilm trailer has had a white-hot reception from fans - judging by many comments on social media.

"Simply incredible. Perfect blend of old and new. There are no words to describe how masterful this trailer is," said one poster.

Another gushed: "Literally the only film I'm excited for this year. I mean '10-year-old flashbacks' excited."

The two-minute clip was the first time a veteran Han Solo has been seen. He was joined by Chewbacca at the end, saying: "Chewie, we're home!"

The trailer opens with a speeder racing across a desert planet, with a crashed Star Destroyer in the background.

You then see Darth Vader's melted, black mask.

A voice - believed to be Hamill's - says: "The force is strong in my family. My father has it. I have it. My sister has it. You have that power too."

A flurry of fast-edited scenes follow giving a few clues to the film, set 30 years after 1983's Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi.

You see Isaac, Boyega and Ridley as well as Stormtroopers and a masked baddie wielding a red lightsaber, before the clip ends with Harrison and Chewbacca.

Disney bought Lucasfilm for $4bn (£2.6bn) in October 2012, adding the legendary Star Wars franchise to its stable of lucrative characters.

This is Disney's first of three Star Wars instalments as it expands the universe originally devised by George Lucas in the 1970s.