'Star Wars' fans, rejoice! Take a look at Keri Russell's new 'Rise of Skywalker' character

It's only been a little more than a month since the first trailer arrived for the highly anticipated "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" and already we're getting some new info about what's going down in the concluding chapter of the Skywalker saga. Keri Russell fans especially have a reason to be very excited.

Director J.J. Abrams' upcoming blockbuster-to-be (in theaters Dec. 20) gets the Vanity Fair cover-story treatment and a whole bunch of cool new photos courtesy of Annie Leibovitz that reveal new characters, old foes and the return of a certain Jedi master.

Here's what the "Star Wars" faithful needs to know from the fresh intel:

Keri Russell looks awesome, even in a helmet.

We knew Abrams' former "Felicity" star was in the new "Star Wars" movie, but maybe didn't expect her to look quite this cool. Russell plays the debuting Zorri Bliss, a scoundrel who hangs out in the darker corners of the universe – like a place called Thieves' Quarter on the snowy planet Kijimi. (A vacation spot for those who think Hoth is too cold.) This female rogue looks like a cross between the Rocketeer and the Met Gala, and her action figure is probably going to be the new hotness.

The First Order just recruited an Oscar nominee.

Similarly to Russell, the "Star Wars" role for Richard E. Grant (who snagged a supporting actor nomination for "Can You Ever Forgive Me?") was a big mystery, though it can now be revealed: The British actor plays Allegiant General Pryde, who looks like he hangs out with Domhnall Gleeson's General Hux on a Star Destroyer and goes to the same tailor. "Star Wars" has always had a penchant for casting Brits as members of its neo-fascist empires, but at least they're getting some top-notch talent for their resident baddies.

Rey and Kylo are throwing down. Again.

One of the coolest new shots shows Rey and Adam Driver's Kylo Ren locked in a crazy lightsaber battle. Another confrontation was inevitable after the end of "The Last Jedi," which saw defeat for new Supreme Leader Kylo, and Rey literally closing the door on any sort of relationship. More will be revealed about their connection within the Force – what Driver describes as their "maybe-bond" – plus the mysterious Knights of Ren (just glimpsed in "The Force Awakens") play a role, origins of the First Order will finally come to light, and it seems that the ages-old conflict between Jedi and Sith will reach some sort of conclusion.

Carrie Fisher will share scenes with her daughter.

Abrams revealed at Star Wars Celebration that unused "Force Awakens" footage let him add General Leia Organa to "Skywalker," but the Vanity Fair piece discusses how Fisher's daughter Billie Lourd, who played the Resistance's Lieutenant Connix in the past two movies, wanted to be in the scenes with her late mom. “There are moments in this movie where Carrie is there, and I really do feel there is an element of the uncanny, spiritual, you know, classic Carrie, that it would have happened this way, because somehow it worked," Abrams told the magazine. "And I never thought it would.”

Luke Skywalker is still feeling the Force, y'all.

Arguably the most interesting new pic of the bunch – and the coolest for an old-school "Star Wars" nerd – is of Mark Hamill's legendary Rebel Alliance hero and Jedi master standing in front of a blaze with longtime droid buddy R2-D2. Which is a pretty cool trick, considering it seemed like Luke died at the end of "Last Jedi." This hints that, rather than a resurrection, Luke will appear as a Force ghost in "Skywalker." (Why doesn't he look ethereal like old Ben Kenobi did in the original trilogy? Well, Leibovitz is good but she's probably not that good.)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Star Wars' fans, rejoice! Take a look at Keri Russell's new 'Rise of Skywalker' character