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Lightsabers and X-Wings are returning to the Star Wars universe in The Force Awakens, but there's also a ton of new weapons ready to be introduced to fans.
Although we still don't have too much information, thanks to a new Rolling Stone cover story, one of the biggest and newest weapons in the franchise has finally been revealed. For those trying to stay away from spoilers, turn away now.
According to the magazine, the weapon — which has been referred to by director J.J. Abrams and crew as the Sunsucker — is an "energy device" that sits on the ground of an undisclosed planet and "sends a massive, lavalike beam upward."
To date, we haven't seen the weapon in action directly, but if you've paid close attention to the past few trailers and teasers, you'll have noticed the large laser beam shooting through the night sky. In the last official trailer, the beam can be seen from the window of Kylo Ren's ship.
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Based on the past few clips we've seen of the Sunsucker, it seems pretty obvious that this is a tool designed to create as much devastation as possible, developed by the First Order as a way to wipe out the opposing side.
Recently, we did get a closer look at how the tool would be used, thanks to an ad for Disney Infinity 3.0 and its Force Awakens level. In the photo that the studio tweeted out from the official account, the Sunsucker can be seen in action, directly attacking — and possibly destroying — a celestial body.
Check out the next @StarWars: #TheForceAwakens power disc coming to #DisneyInfinity 3.0. pic.twitter.com/IgWNPVUA7W
— Disney Infinity (@DisneyInfinity) November 12, 2015
The Rolling Stone piece couldn't offer much more information on the weapon, but the writer did describe it as "seriously scary." That shouldn't be too surprising, since Abrams has said in past interviews that the First Order, and Kylo Ren specifically, would be far more menacing than Darth Vader and his army ever were.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens on Dec. 18.
