Amazon boss Jeff Bezos to play an alien in 'Star Trek Beyond'

Amazon.com Founder Jeff Bezos is set to guest star in the upcoming Star Trek Beyond film, according to director Justin Lin The Verge reported.

Bezos, who had previously expressed that he is a fan of the sci-fi franchise, is listed in the credits for Star Trek Beyond, the third installment of the most modern incarnation of the series.

His cameo in the film follows a string of artists and actors who have recently lent themselves to guest appearances in blockbuster films, including Daniel Craig, who portrayed a stormtrooper in The Force Awakens.

Bezos, who launched his Blue Origin private space travel company because of his childhood dreams of exploring the galaxy, is said to be portraying an alien in the film, although other reports (IMDB) hint that the tech billionaire is playing a Starfleet official.

Star Wars Celebration

On July 15-17, London hosted this year's Star Wars Celebration convention with fans eagerly awaiting news on the franchise's upcoming instalment. However, they weren't treated to as many revelations as they might have hoped. Still, here are five things we did learn about the next Star Wars episodes and their spin-offs.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story gets a poster: The first spin-off from the Star Wars franchise now has its first movie poster, although it's still provisional. The poster shows a paradise setting -- with a beach lined with palm trees and turquoise waters -- as the backdrop for a battle between humans and their droids and an army of Stormtroopers. In the sky, X-wings can be seen circling and a translucent Death Star shows its menacing presence. A few new images from the film were also unveiled in a video mixing scenes from the first trailer and behind the scenes footage: https://youtu.be/HUb_zpdyDpU.

Darth Vader is definitely back: Eleven years after Revenge of the Sith, the Sith Lord is set to return to the saga via the Rogue One spin-off. Announced back in June, Darth Vader's return has been confirmed by a teaser unveiled at this year's Star Wars Celebration. Darth Vader makes a very brief appearance right at the end of the video. Fans immediately recognised his legendary breathing before even seeing him onscreen. Unfortunately, the teaser isn't available online for the time being.

Episode VIII will directly follow The Force Awakens: For the first time in the history of the saga, the next episode will pick up the story directly after the previous installment. With no omissions or jumps forward in time, Rian Johnson's movie -- which has just finished filming -- will pick up exactly where the J.J. Abrams film left off -- in other words, when Rey and Luke Skywalker meet.

Alden Ehrenreich is the new Han Solo: The 26-year-old American actor is set to play the legendary smuggler -- previously portrayed by Harrison Ford -- in a spin-off about his younger years and early encounters with the Rebel Alliance. Alden Ehrenreich, seen recently in the Coen brothers' Hail, Caesar!, was officially introduced at the Star Wars Celebration. The Han Solo movie is due to start filming in January or early February 2017, directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street), and is slated for release in May 2018.

More in store for 2017: In the end, there were very few revelations from the London edition of Star Was Celebration. There was hardly any new information on Episode VIII, for example, which still has no title or teaser. Next year's Star Wars Celebration in Orlando, USA, (April 13 to 16, 2017) should make up for things. As well as being held a few months before the release of Episode VIII, the 2017 edition is also likely to celebrate the saga's 40th anniversary.