The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams finds the apparent lack of Star Wars merchandising surrounding the film's female star Rey "preposterous and wrong."
Asked about his feelings on the situation at the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour, and if he was involved at all in wanting to protect potential pre-release spoilers by keeping Rey out of specific The Force Awakens merchandising, Abrams replied: "You know, I wish I had more details about merchandising and the schedule. I’m learning things as you are, but I will say that it seems preposterous and wrong that the main character of the movie is not well represented in what is clearly a huge piece of the Star Wars world in terms of merchandising."
Despite being the main character of the new movie, there have been numerous instances where Daisy Ridley's character has been left out, including a boxed set of figures at Target, which offered Finn, Poe, Chewbacca, Kylo Ren, a Stormtrooper, and a TIE Fighter Pilot. That single set sparked the social movement "#WheresRey" on Twitter. Since then, more instances of Rey's absence have come to light, including the most recent — her being left out of Hasbro's Star Wars Monopoly, which came out months before The Force Awakens hit theaters. Hasbro originally defended the decision to exclude Rey from the game was to avoid spoilers, though they later agreed to release an updated version of the game with Rey included.
Abrams said he was aware of the situation with Hasbro, and it's possible the director might have had a say in the updated version. "I read that she wasn’t in the Monopoly game and was quickly making phone calls about this because if it were true — and it is true, and now Hasbro, of course, has said they’re going to put Rey in — it doesn’t quite make sense why she wouldn’t be there," Abrams said, adding with a laugh, "She's somewhat important to the story."
On the bright side, it seems toy makers are learning from the backlash, with Mattel having just revealed 6" figurines for the upcoming female Ghostbusters movie.
[IGN]
