UPDATE: Hasbro has announced that a Rey playing piece will be added to a new version of Star Wars Monopoly coming out later this year. The toy company released a statement after fan outcry the character's exclusion from the games saying,
We love the passion fans have for Rey, and are happy to announce that we will be making a running change to include her in the Monopoly: Star Wars game available later this year
Good to see the mistake being rectified and Hasbro actually listening to fans. Still, the whole situation could have easily been avoided by including the main character of The Force Awakens in the Monopoly game.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Hasbro has released a statement responding to the criticism it has received regarding the Star Wars Monopoly game released to coincide with the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the lack of a Rey playing piece. The exclusion of Rey is just the latest in a long line of female characters being under represented in toy lines. Though things have been better with Rey (and Phasma) with the The Force Awakens merchandise than with other franchises (like the lack of Black Widow action figures when Avengers: Age of Ultron), there is still plenty of room for improvement. And it is troubling that the main character of the film was not included in the Monopoly game, (the game comes with Luke, Darth Vader, Kylo Ren, and Finn playing pieces). This has led to the hashtag #WheresRey being created to raise awareness about this issue.
We love the passion fans have for Rey, and are happy to announce that we will be making a running change to include her in the Monopoly: Star Wars game available later this year
Good to see the mistake being rectified and Hasbro actually listening to fans. Still, the whole situation could have easily been avoided by including the main character of The Force Awakens in the Monopoly game.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Hasbro has released a statement responding to the criticism it has received regarding the Star Wars Monopoly game released to coincide with the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the lack of a Rey playing piece. The exclusion of Rey is just the latest in a long line of female characters being under represented in toy lines. Though things have been better with Rey (and Phasma) with the The Force Awakens merchandise than with other franchises (like the lack of Black Widow action figures when Avengers: Age of Ultron), there is still plenty of room for improvement. And it is troubling that the main character of the film was not included in the Monopoly game, (the game comes with Luke, Darth Vader, Kylo Ren, and Finn playing pieces). This has led to the hashtag #WheresRey being created to raise awareness about this issue.
Hasbro responded to the criticism in a statement to Entertainment Weekly, saying,
"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."
I will say, that's a pretty weak response. They could have easily included a Rey playing piece with her wielding her Jakku staff, rather than the lightsaber to preserve the reveal in the film. Granted, not every character needs to be included in every product, but when something like the Monopoly game is representing the whole galaxy, to not include a main character like Rey in the game seems like a dramatic oversight. It's also troubling when you look at it in the larger conversation surrounding the lack of female characters as toys in the industry in general.
#WheresRey?
Source: Entertainment Weekly
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