Rey to be in Star Wars Monopoly after outcry

LONDON • Hasbro has announced that an edition of its Star Warsthemed Monopoly game featuring lead character Rey will be released later this year. The about-turn follows days of fan outrage surrounding the character's omission from the game.

The announcement was posted on Hasbro's Twitter account on Wednesday. The version for sale now features the four character tokens of Finn, Kylo Ren, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.

On Tuesday, Hasbro claimed its controversial move to omit Star Wars: The Force Awakens hero Rey from the game was motivated by a desire to avoid spoiling J.J. Abrams' film. "The Star Wars: Monopoly game was released last 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," a spokesman for Hasbro explained.

However, Rey does not join the Rebel Alliance, which featured in the original trilogy, but a successor group referred to as the Resistance.

Fans said Rey featured heavily in the film's posters and trailer, and plot points could have been avoided by featuring her with her staff rather than a lightsaber.

Hasbro's explanation was further undermined by its apparent lack of concern about spoiling the plot line of Finn, who featured in the trailers as a stormtrooper.

The game is the latest in official merchandise that has drawn ire for prioritising less-prominent male characters over Rey. A Hasbro toy of the Millennium Falcon is accompanied by Chewbacca, Finn and BB-8 figurines; a Target figurine pack has Kylo Ren, Chewbacca, Finn, Poe Dameron, a stormtrooper and a TIE fighter pilot.

A hashtag, #WheresRey, has been charting her absence from chain store shelves.

THE GUARDIAN

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 09, 2016, with the headline Rey to be in Star Wars Monopoly after outcry. Subscribe