'Star Wars' Merchandisers Promise to Do Better With Female Characters for 'Rogue One'

In response to the controversy of Rey being left out of Star Wars: The Force Awakens marketing and merchandising, toy industry executives has promised the same will not happen to Jyn Erso in Rogue One: A Star Wars story, Advertising Age reports. Like Rey was for The Force Awakens, Jyn is actually the lead character in Rogue One. Companies like Hasbro have confirmed that Jyn will be featured heavily in merchandise.

""Baby will not be left in the corner this year," toy industry consultant Chris Byrne said. "There's a heavy emphasis on vehicles, action play and all the characters."

He continued, "Young boys will embrace the female hero in a way they wouldn't have 30 or 40 years ago. Today's boys will actually look at a female hero and say, 'Yeah, she can be powerful.' Their masculinity is not threatened."

The justification given by companies for the lack of Rey merchandise early on was that it had not yet been revealed she was a lead in the movie (though she was featured in trailers pretty often, so it was at least obvious she was a major character). There's no such excuse with Jyn Erso, who was clearly identified as a lead from the first teaser. A Target spokeswoman said, "Guests can expect to find their favorite characters, including Jyn Erso, who Disney and Lucas films have identified early on as a lead. The roles of characters in The Force Awakens were kept close to the glove to not give away any of the plot line."

Jyn will be included in Hasbro's "Go Rogue" series, a playset, a Nerf Blaster and she's getting several figures. The target spokeswoman says Jyn is "compelling" and deserves the attention.

Star Wars: Rogue One toys have already made the top of merchandise sales list for several retailers. However, they won't be available for purchase until September 30th.

I'm glad to see Jyn is getting her due when it comes to toys. It's kind of sad the main character of a movie getting represented in merchandise is a thing that even needs to be discussed, but at least positive change is happening. What do you think? Will you be getting Jyn toys?

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