Star Wars: The Force Awakens teaser trailer premieres

It gives fans an 88-second glimpse of the new film, the first new addition to the series since 2005.

Featuring shots of the Millennium Falcon, it also offers the first look of a new cross-shaped lightsaber.

The film, which reunites original stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher is scheduled to be released in cinemas on 18 December 2015.

The trailer opens with a sweeping desert landscape, with a voice saying: "There has been an awakening, have you felt it?", before British star John Boyega appears wearing a Stormtrooper uniform.

It goes on to feature a football-like droid, a Stormtrooper army and fellow British star Daisy Ridley on a type of speeder bike.

According to Time, one cinema in Austin, Texas, is playing the trailer in a separate standalone screening 17 consecutive times.

Each screening will be followed by two minutes of discussion by a panel of Star Wars experts.

The seventh instalment of the sci-fi saga is set about 30 years after the events of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.