Even though the new Star Wars Monopoly game has been out for months, it is just starting to occur to many that the game doesn’t include a piece for Rey, the character played by Daisy Ridley in The Force Awakens. Now that everyone knows that she’s the real main character, that’s sparked a lot of eyebrow-raising across the web.
Even before the film came out, the Twitter hashtag #WheresRey got off the ground because of other Hasbro toys that noticeably forgot about the character. Specifically, a Target exclusive 12” figure set didn’t include her, but had all male characters instead. This week, many began noting that the Monopoly game also leaves her out and instead includes Kylo Ren, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and Finn pieces.
Hasbro and Disney have blamed the lack of representation of Rey for not wanting to spoil the movie. After all, many of these products were on store shelves months before the film opened on Dec. 18.
“Rey was not included to avoid revealing a key plot line that she takes on Kylo Ren and joins the Rebel Alliance,” Julie Duffy, Hasbro’s Global Communications vice president, told The New York Daily News.
Disney's Senior Vice President and Head of Licensing for Lucasfilm Paul Southern told The Daily Beast that there are products with Rey and they have been selling well.
“In many stores and e-commerce destinations, products featuring Rey are selling as quickly as retailers can restock shelves,” Southern said. “Fans will also be seeing a lot more of Rey with a new wave of product coming in January.”
While it is true that including a lightsaber with a Rey figure or featuring her as the new pilot of the Millennium Falcon would have spoiled some aspects of The Force Awakens before the film came out, that can’t be used as an excuse. On Force Friday in September, when TFA products hit the shelves, there were Rey figures available and it was obvious to anyone who saw the trailers that she was going to be a hero. Including her as a piece in a Monopoly game or making a 12” figure would not have spoiled anything.
Now that practically everyone has seen the film, more Rey figures will have to be available. It’s great to see a strong female character take control of the franchise on the big screen, but it doesn’t make sense for there not to be readily available toys.