Star Wars reunited

It is the photo that Star Wars fans have awaited for years - the galaxy of talent from the cult sci-fi films pictured together for the first time.

Er, well almost. The actors from the six movies did not actually get together in the same studio.

They were snapped separately in Sydney, New York and Los Angeles and then digitally welded together using technology worthy of Star Wars creator George Lucas himself.

The image was created to mark the near-completion of the final chapter in the epic series - Star Wars III: Revenge Of The Sith.

The film, which Lucas insists is the last, is the ' missing link' between the original trilogy and the two later films. It shows the metamorphosis of Jedi knight Anakin Skywalker into the evil Darth Vader.

In the latest Vanity Fair magazine, Lucas tells interviewer Jim Windolf that he enjoyed directing a hit series but would return to making obscure films such as his first, the critically panned THX 1138. He adds: 'I've earned the right to fail. From now on, I'm going to make movies nobody wants to see and everyone will say I've lost my touch.'

February's Vanity Fair goes on sale on January 11. Revenge Of The Sith is out in May.