Where’s Rey in Star Wars: Monopoly?
My kids received the new Star Wars Monopoly game for Christmas and before we even opened the plastic pouch containing the game tokens, my daughter wanted to be Rey, the strong female lead character in the blockbuster film.
However, the force was not with Hasbro when deciding on the game tokens.
Hasbro claims to have good reason for not including Daisy Ridley's character. The company has released a statement in response to internet backlash (#wheresrey) that the game only includes the male characters as game pieces.
The explanation reads,
The Star Wars: Monopoly game was released in September, months before the movie’s release, and Rey was not included to avoid revealing a key plot line that she takes on Kylo Ren and joins the Rebel Alliance. Fans will see more Rey products hitting store shelves this month, including 6-inch and 12-inch Rey action figures. We are thrilled with the popularity of this compelling character and will continue to look for ways to showcase Rey across all of our product lines."
The Monopoly set includes Finn, Luke, Kylo Ren, and Darth Vader even though Darth doesn't actually appear in The Force Awakens.
Star Wars fans have taken to social media in recent months to call out the sexism in the lack of Rey merchandise with the hashtag "#wheresrey."
In many stores products featuring Rey are selling as quickly as retailers can restock shelves.
My daughter settled on Darth Vader.