How Rey fans convinced Hasbro to make a big change to Monopoly's 'Star Wars' game

After backlash from fans, Hasbro announced Wednesday on Twitter it will be adding the lead female character Rey to upcoming versions of its "Star Wars" edition of Monopoly.

The game, which was released back in September, included four male character tokens: Finn, Darth Vader, General Hux and Kylo Ren.

Since the film's release December 18, many have been quick to point out Rey's omission from the game, prompting them to ask where she is on social media using the hashtag, #WheresRey.

The complaints have also made their way onto the game's Amazon page:

In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, Hasbro explained Rey wasn't included in the original release of the official Monopoly tie-in "to avoid revealing a key plot line" before the film premiered.

This isn't the first time the #WheresRey hashtag has come up. 

Jill Pantozzi, creator of The Nerdy Bird blog, and Carrie Goldman, co-founder of the Pop Culture Hero Coalition, an anti-bullying organization, were among many fans using the #WheresRey hashtag asking toymakers to include Rey in more official "Star Wars" merchandise.

When Target released an exclusive toy set last fall including Finn, Chewbaccca, Poe, Kylo Ren and the updated Stormtrooper model without Rey, many were quick to notice the lead star's absence.

Though there have been standalone Rey action figures sold in stores, they're often hard to come by along with Hasbro's other "The Force Awakens" action figures. They sell quick.

#WheresRey hashtag has become part of a larger campaign to include more female characters in official merchandise tied to comicbook adaptations. There was similar fan outcry in August 2014 when Gamora was absent from some "Guardians of the Galaxy" merchandise and again last Spring when Black Widow wasn't included in some "Avengers 2: Age of Ultron" toys. 

The push for including more superheroines may have started to work. Ahead of the March 25 release of "Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice," Wonder Woman toys have already been announced, including official releases from Mattel, including statuettes and Die Cast figurines from toymaker Metals.

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