Leaked photo of Star Wars toy contains huge The Force Awakens spoiler

With mere days to go until the entire world trots off to watch the latest Star Wars, an image of a leaked The Force Awakens toy has only gone and spoiled one of the movie's biggest surprises. The offending item was purchased by a staff member at Star Wars Action News - a podcasting site that specialises in discussing the extensive memorabilia surrounding the franchise. After a Walmart in Iowa accidentally sold him the item early, he posted a snap of the figure to the site's Facebook page. It was promptly removed after Lucasfilm slapped them with a DMCA takedown notice.

So if the lawyers are involved, it must be the real deal, right? For those of you who wish to remain in the dark about the film, click elsewhere now. Seriously. This is a big one.

Final spoiler alert!

The never-before-seen figure is Rey kitted out in a Resistance outfit. It might not be the biggest jaw-dropper, as she seems headed that way, but there has only been the slightest hint of her joining the Rebels in the TV spots. That's not the spoileriest bit; see the lightsaber? That blue glow look familiar? It should; it's the one previously owned by Luke and Anakin. Rey is the first female Jedi to pick up the 'saber. Although, thanks to a comment from Harrison Ford during the recent Star Wars #TwitterAwakens event, it wasn't exactly a secret that Rey was destined for great things:

Directed by JJ Abrams and starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Andy Serkis, Oscar Isaac and Gwendoline Christie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is released in UK cinemas on December 17, 2015 before opening in US theatres a day later.