JJ Abrams has hinted that Darth Vader could be a “martyr” figure who inspires a new generation of evil in the upcoming Star Wars film, The Force Awakens.

Fans have speculated furiously over the character of Kylo Ren, played by Adam Driver, whose ostentatious robes and mask appear to have a Vader-like quality. Likewise, observers have suggested Ren’s new First Order could be a direct descendent of the evil Galactic Empire featured in the original Star Wars trilogy.

But Abrams told Empire magazine the truth might be rather more complex. “Kylo Ren is not a Sith,” said the film-maker, whose movie is released worldwide on 18 December. “He works under Supreme Leader Snoke, who is a powerful figure on the Dark Side of the Force.”

Unlike Ren, who Abrams has previously revealed was given his second name by a mysterious group named the knights of Ren, Snoke has not yet appeared in early trailers or images. Portrayed by Andy Serkis, he is expected to be a CGI creature with motion-captured movements: the character was heard in the first teaser for The Force Awakens remarking on the re-emergence of the titular metaphysical energy field, “the dark side, and the light”.

It is not known if Snoke is connected to the First Order, but Abrams suggested the new group might be linked to the Empire in a non-linear manner.

“That all came out of conversations about what would have happened if the Nazis all went to Argentina, but started working together again,” said the director. “What could be born of that? Could the First Order exist as a group that actually admired the Empire? Could the work of the Empire be seen as unfulfilled? And could Vader be a martyr? Could there be a need to see through what didn’t get done?”

Details of the storyline for The Force Awakens are, uncharacteristically for an Abrams film, slowly slipping out, although it’s not known how much is accurate. Two years ago, the New York-born film-maker insisted right up until the first preview screenings that Benedict Cumberbatch did not play Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness. It finally emerged that the British actor was indeed portraying the villainous figure made famous by Ricardo Montalbán in 1982’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.