A decade after the outer space film franchise was declared finished by creator George Lucas, it was revealed that a seventh movie, with a working title of Episode 7, is set for release in 2015. Episodes 8 and 9 will then follow.

The announcement was made by movie giant Walt Disney after it said it was in the process of buying Lucasfilm - the company behind Star Wars - for about £2.5 billion.

The hugely successful movie series was last night trending on Twitter in the UK as film-lovers took to the microblogging site to discuss the news.

According to Disney, the new trilogy will carry the story of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia beyond Return of the Jedi, the third film released and the sixth in the saga.

After that, the company plans a new film every two or three years.

The deal follows Disney's acquisitions of Pixar studios for 7.4 billion US dollars (£4.6 billion) in 2006 and Marvel comics for 4.2 billion US dollars (£2.6 billion) in 2009.

Lucas, who will serve as creative consultant in the new movies, said: "For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next.

"It's now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of film-makers."

The chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm added: "I've always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime."

Lucas, 68, launched Lucasfilm in 1971 and the first Star Wars film was released in 1977.