Adam Driver might not be playing a villain in the new Star Wars movie after all, after a set photo seemed to suggest otherwise.

There have been rumours that the actor will play a baddie in JJ Abrams' Episode VII, but a new image has thrown that into doubt, as the actor is seen wearing an X-wing pilot's outfit.

The photo on Star Wars 7 News, originally posted on Rick Lawrence's Facebook page, shows a man in the distance who looks a lot like Adam, wearing the unmistakable orange spacesuit.

It has sparked speculation that the Girls star may be playing a good guy after all, but some sites have pointed out that the snap could have been of a flashback scene, or possibly show his character going undercover.

Adam, 30, recently said the big budget production is "the most difficult thing" he has ever done.

"But you still have to approach it like any other thing and JJ has made it so you can," he added.

No details of the plot for the new instalment have been released, but it is set 30 years on from the events of the 1983 film Star Wars: Episode VI - The Return Of The Jedi.

Original Star Wars actors Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Kenny Baker are back for the new film and will be joined by new cast including Adam, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Lupita Nyong'o and Max von Sydow.

Star Wars: Episode VII is due to be released in cinemas on December 18, 2015.