Emperor Palpatine, the arch-villain of the franchise, was played in the original Star Wars films by Carnoustie-born actor Ian McDiarmid.

McDiarmid, who studied psychology at Queen’s College in Dundee, first appeared as Darth Vader’s ‘boss’ in Return of the Jedi in 1983, overseeing the last stages of the second Death Star’s construction.

He returned for the Star Wars prequels in 1999’s The Phantom Menace and for the past 50 years has been a successful actor in a wide range of roles on stage and screen.

There are high profile connections between the Star Wars universe’s fictional back catalogue and the Tayside and Fife area.

Crieff actor Denis Lawson famously played X-Wing pilot Wedge Antilles in the original Star Wars trilogy.

Lawson is the uncle of Crieff actor Ewan McGregor who played a youthful Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.