Star Wars heroine Rey to be added to Monopoly game

Star Wars heroine Rey is to be added to an updated Monopoly game based on the latest blockbuster film after angry fans objected that her character had been left out.

US toy company Hasbro tweeted that it would be including a token of Rey, played by British actor Daisy Ridley, in the game this year after previously claiming she had been left out to avoid spoilers before The Force Awakens was released last month.

The Star Wars Monopoly game currently on sale features Rey's fellow lead Finn, played by John Boyega, Luke Skywalker, new baddie Kylo Ren and Darth Vader, who was killed off in 1983's Return Of The Jedi.

The game was released in September, when trailers for the film featuring Rey’s character had already appeared.

Star Wars released its official poster in October, which featured Rey in the central, most prominent position. Her omission from the game generated widespread complaints from fans over the Christmas period, and led to the Twitter hashtag #WheresRey.

Hasbro tweeted today: “We love your passion for Rey, and are happy to share that we will be including her in the Monopoly: Star Wars game, available later this year.”

Hasbro issued a statement on Tuesday saying Star Wars Monopoly did not feature Rey to “avoid revealing a key plot line that she takes on Kylo Ren and joins the Rebel Alliance”.

It said the Jakku scavenger already featured in other Star Wars games including Hands Down, Guess Who? and Chess.

But other Star Wars toys also failed to include Rey, such as a model of the Millennium Falcon spaceship she pilots and maintains with Chewbacca.

And some figure sets did not feature Rey either, prompting an eight-year-old girl to write a letter posted online by her mother making it clear to toy companies that "without Rey, there is no The Force Awakens" because "it awakens in her". - (PA)