At first glance, they appear to be nothing more than pictures of a unremarkable tent in the depths of the Arabian desert. But for the legions of Stars Wars fans, a set of grainy images could provide a seductive first insight into Star Wars: Episode VII, a film that has become one of the most closely guarded secrets in Hollywood.
Taken on Tuesday morning by a photographer from Abu Dhabi newspaper the National, the three pictures allegedly show a film set being built in the dunes near the resort of Qasr Al Sarab that bears similarities to Tatooine, the desert-like home planet of Luke Skywalker.
One piece of equipment – a giant, round, grey disc – has got fans debating online whether it could be part of an escape pod in which C-3P0 and R2-D2 crash-landed on Tatooine in the original 1977 film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope or part of the foot of an AT-AT vehicle first seen in The Empire Strikes Back. It has also given fans the most convincing evidence yet that filming for the next part of the space odyssey is about to begin in Abu Dhabi.
Tunisia was used as the setting of the fantasy planet in the earlier Star Wars films, but the turbulent political climate there is believed to have forced the film-makers to move.
The images have titillated fans who, since the Disney revival of the Star Wars franchise was announced 18 months ago, have been starved of hard facts about the new space trilogy.
Many Hollywood stars have been attached to the project, but the trio of leads remains unknown. Last week Benedict Cumberbatch became the latest celebrity to deny he has a coveted role, joining Saiorse Ronan and Breaking Bad actor Jesse Plemons.
But it has been the (still unofficial yet widely accepted) news that director JJ Abrams will bring back the original cast of Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill to reprise their roles as Princess Leia, Han Solo and Luke Skywalker that has ensured Episode VII has the stamp of approval from Star Wars devotees.
Scott Chitwood, co-founder of theforce.net, a Star Wars fansite, said: "JJ Abrams is making every choice that I as a fan would like to see. I love Mark Hamill, and though he has a long way to go to get in shape, to blaze a new trail with Star Wars films they've got to tie them to the old ones for legitimacy."
If the rumours are true, there will be plenty of Star Wars nostalgia in the sequel to mollify the franchise's vibrant fanbase. Another familiar face alleged to be returning is Peter Mayhew, who will again play wookiee and loyal co-pilot Chewbacca – despite his recent double knee replacement – while series veteran R2-D2 has become the first character to be officially confirmed by Disney.
The film has a £120m budget and it has been reported that the interior of Han Solo's space freighter, the Millennium Falcon, has been rebuilt at London's Pinewood studios ready for filming in May, while Anthony Daniels has hinted he will again provide the voice of robot C-3P0.
The potential new faces are the cause of just as much hype and conjecture. It appears likely that Adam Driver, better known for playing the lovably awkward Adam in TV series Girls, has beaten Michael Fassbender and Hugo Weaving to the role of a Darth Vader-esque villain. On the opposite side the spectrum, relative unknown British actor Maisie Richardson-Sellers has reportedly been cast as a descendant of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"What is going to be most interesting is the storyline for these new characters because the Star Wars books and comics have thrown every conceivable sequel out there," said Chitwood. "They've had the Emperor cloned and brought back to life, they've had aliens invade from another planet.
"One rumour that keeps popping up on the fan forums is that the main character will be the long lost son or daughter of Obi Wan, though I really hope that isn't true as I don't see why everyone in the Star Wars universe has to be related."
He also expressed the mounting frustration of fans about the new film's cloak-and-dagger approach to revealing anything about the cast or storyline. Little has been revealed other than that the film will take place 35 years after The Return of the Jedi and feature the offspring of the original characters.
However, Paul Ens, who worked for Lucasfilm for eight years and was present on the set of prequel films II and III, said such a clandestine buildup was only to be expected.
"I'm not surprised by the secrecy that is surrounding the film because it was exactly the same on the prequels," said Ens, now president of Red 5 Comics. "On both Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith they were very cagey about going public with the cast until the very last minute, as there were still negotiations going on up to the wire.
"I also know JJ Abrams by reputation and playing with the fans is part of the fun for him."
According to Ens, Abrams and scriptwriters Lawrence Kasdan and Michael Arndt were given full access to Lucas's notes for his original vision for Star Wars Episodes VII, VIII and IX.
"I still have friends who work at Lucasfilm and they told me that George had notes hidden in a safe somewhere for 20 years about his plans for the nine films, none of which anyone was privy to," said Ens.
"The thing that excites me most is that JJ Abrams and his team had access to those full notes and had the opportunity to do some question and answer sessions with George about them, while also not being beholden to them. As a Star Wars fan, the thought that the world may never have seen those pages would have been very sad."
Although the new film is said to have an entirely original plot, digging through the archives of Lucas's past interviews could provide an insight into a potential direction of the first of the new trilogy, which is due out on 18 December 2015.
"The last three episodes involve the rebuilding of the Republic," Lucas told Time Magazine in 1980. "Only two of the main characters will appear in all nine films, and they are the robots, R2-D2 and C-3P0. In effect, the story will be told through their eyes."
