Disney and 20th Century Fox have announced that they are jointly releasing the current six Star Wars movies on a digital download format for the first time. Available from 10 April, Digital HD versions of Star Wars Episodes I - VI will be purchasable from online movie services that carry the Fox-lead movie format, such as iTunes. They will be available individually and in box-set form.

The films will be released ahead of an expected second, more revealing trailer for Disney's seventh film in the franchise, Star Wars: Episode VII - A Force Awakens. That is tipped to accompany the US release of Avengers 2 on 1 May, and will no doubt hit the web soon after.

Sources claim that the new trailer will feature shots of this movie's Han Solo, Leia, R2-D2 and C-3PO for the first time. There is also a rumour that there is a shot of Darth Vader's helmet sitting on a podium. Expect the internet to explode.

Alongside the Digital HD editions of the current Star Wars trilogies, a stack of new and unreleased extras will be available, including a Star Wars: Discoveries from Inside video piece for each film. Plus, there will be legacy content added and a Conversations piece, talking to key contributors.

READ: 11 funny alternatives to the ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ trailer

It has not been officially confirmed, but we presume the Digital HD versions will be in 1080p and encoded from the same 4K masters created by Lowry Digital prior to the series debut on DVD. That also lends hope to the idea that the entire run will be released on 4K in the future.