Like a grand jigsaw puzzle slowly coming together, a little bit more of Star Wars: The Force Awakens is being revealed, a piece at a time.

Make no mistake: These reveals are part of a carefully calculated and intentional effort on the part of writer/director J.J. Abrams to show just enough new material, ever-so-slowly, to keep fans buzzing with excitement. Not that his movie needs it; Star Wars: The Force Awakens is being called "the most anticipated movie of all time."

You can bet that Abrams is still sitting on all of his best material, his coolest visuals and his biggest plot twists. He's just giving us little glimpses now and then to make sure we know that there's plenty more to this movie than we've yet seen.

First, Vanity Fair got to exclusively publish a set of stylish, evocative photos from celebrated photographer Annie Leibovitz, taken on set. Entertainment Weekly followed not long after, with more exclusive pictures and some new details. Now, it's Empire's turn.

Empire's cover story largely focuses on bad guys like Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie), and General Hux (Domnhall Gleeson). In addition to an amazing cover image that included this trio of villains and a matching cover that featured a similar trio of heroes, the magazine revealed a new image of Kylo Ren a few days ago.

Today, three new images are being shown off: two shots of actor John Boyega as Finn on the set, and a third cover variant exclusively for subscribers. The cover has a nicely detailed, close-up image of droid BB-8. Take a look.

Empire Magazine's latest issue, featuring its Star Wars: The Force Awakens cover story, is on sale now. The film opens in theaters on December 18, 2015.