In the perfect demonstration of two steps forward ten steps back, the females of Star Wars took another hit when Monopoly left out the Rey piece once again.
If you play Monopoly, then you must know that half the fun of the game is claiming your figure and trotting it across the board in a big, dramatic gesture as you buy property after property and look for ways to steal money from the bank.
Whether you’re a thimble or a themed figure like Link’s Hylian shield in the Legend of Zelda edition, we all know your piece is as important as your properties.
So when Hasbro left out the Rey figure in the 2016 Monopoly edition—right after The Force Awakens debuted and she became one of the most important movie heroines of a generation—it became a pretty big deal. And not just “Hi, I’m Finn Big DealTM” either. But like, there were no females whatsoever. Not even Leia.
By and large, the toy industry cheated fans by leaving Rey out of nearly everything early on. Despite her being the star of The Force Awakens, Monopoly wasn’t the only game that suffered. It got so bad, even director J.J. Abrams spoke up.
But the reason all eyes are on Monopoly again is because Hasbro specifically promised not to make the same mistake twice. And yet, the 2017 Star Wars Monopoly edition (you can buy it for $23.99) appears to be Rey-less again … only in the United States.
According the statement included in Associated Press:
"“In early 2016, Hasbro updated the 2015 Star Wars: Monopoly game to add a Rey token,” spokeswoman Julie Duffy explained by email. “This product was sold to retailers in several markets around the world but is not available for sale in the U.S. due to insufficient interest.”"
Boy, America just can’t catch a break. Basically, this means Rey’s out there, it’s just more difficult to get her stateside. However, the bright side of that is how Star Wars fans excel at tracking down exclusive or hard to find loot. Oh, it’s rare? Watch how quickly we’ll find one.
Though, fans won’t have to wait for a convention or pay a ton of money online for the figure. In fact, Hasbro will give you one if you ask. Apparently, fans “can obtain the Rey token by contacting Hasbro Consumer Care when the updated game becomes available later this year.”
Now, let’s look at this from a business perspective. According to Variety, the last two Star Wars films released in theaters (both with women at the forefront) helped push Star Wars merchandise up 4.4 percent. While that doesn’t seem like a lot, don’t forget we’re talking about billions of dollars here. Specifically, $262.9 billion.
Disney is well aware of what sells and what doesn’t. If they’re not pushing Rey into the American market, there must be some truth to the “insufficient interest” claim.
Which means, Lucasfilm’s unofficial stance on the matter reads something like this:
"“Ahsoka Tano may never get her own film and Hasbro won’t release a Rey Monopoly piece to the United States, but here’s Forces of Destiny.”"
Forces of Destiny happens to be a step in the right direction, but not a worthy consolation prize.
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After The Last Jedi premieres in December, we’ll see how the marketing goes then.