Hasbro's Star Wars Monopoly game to get Rey after fans protest

Toymaker Hasbro will be releasing the limited edition of its Star Wars Monopoly with the lead female character Rey. Fans had started a campaign over the omission of the character from the current version of the game that includes only male characters from the movie: Finn, Kylo Ren, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.

The company will be launching the latest version of Star Wars Monopoly later in the year, Hasbro tweeted on 6 January. "The Star Wars: Monopoly game was released in September, months before the movie's [Star Wars: The Force Awakens] 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 Hasbro spokesperson said.

Fans, however, had pointed out that Rey could have been included in the current game by avoiding "major plot points by featuring Rey with her staff rather than a lightsaber". They had also indicated that Rey had featured on the film's posters and trailer.

Outraged fans have been using the hashtag, #WheresRey, after the character's absence from stores selling official Star War merchandise and from Hasbro's Star Wars Monopoly game. The hashtag has also been widely used by fans to voice their anger against the exclusion of other female characters from official movie merchandise and toys. The popular hashtag, #WheresRey, has been used after Gamora from the Guardians Of The Galaxy was not included in a merchandise sale and when the Black Widow was left out from the Avengers 2: Age Of Ultron toys.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens has become the highest earning film in US box office history. Just 20 days after its release, it toppled the James Cameron-directed Avatar's $760.5m (£521m) gross profit until date. Following the movie's success at the box office, reports have suggested that the merchandise sale of Star Wars: The Force Awakens alone could make at least $3bn (£2.6bn).

The #WheresRey protest may be headed in the right direction as ahead of the 25 March release of Batman vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice, Wonder Woman toys have already been announced.