Carrie Fisher has been retweeting certain Twitter users, indicating that something is bothering her. That something is the lack of Leia Star Wars: The Force Awakens products, or Leia products in general, at the Disney Store.
When asked why there are no Leia Dolls or products in Disney Stores for someone's daughter, this was the reply:
@DisneyStore @nataliewreyford @carrieffisher Carrie Fisher, did you know Disney is not selling Princess Leia dolls? What are your thoughts?
— Brigid (@BrigidCovey) December 1, 2015
Since then, Carrie Fisher has retweeted pictures of fans' Princess Leia products, including collectible figures, glasses, dolls and Funkos.
The lack of availabity for certain characters is concerning. I understand it's the holiday season and all, but in a time of sensitivity towards gender equality, and a push for strong female role models in super hero movies and Star Wars alike, should Disney be carrying more Leia products (don't forget, you can't call her a Princess anymore)?
Personally, while Leia is lacking in toys currently, I feel like there's been an abundance of Leia toys over the years, with re-releases and new version, etc. How many times can you release the same figures for Darth Vader, Leia, Luke and Han? And if you think about it, Leia isn't the only character from the original trilogy missing in the toy lineup. Where's Han Solo? Where's Luke Skywalker? Where's Admiral Ackbar? None of their products are in stores, but will most likely see releases later on. If and when these characters are released, including Leia, I expect the Disney Store will carry them. And if they only release for Han, Luke and not Leia, there will be backlash. Hopefully Disney has the foresight to avoid that.
As Mashable points out, in November there was a popular hashtag #WheresRey, when it was called to attention that the new female character was absent on store shelves.
But as someone that went at midnight to a Toys 'R' Us near me for the toy release, I can attest that there were plenty of Rey products. Just as many for Rey as there were for Kylo Ren. There were a few action figures, including a set that had Rey and her speeder, and a Rey minifigure was included in two LEGO sets: Millennium Falcon and Rey's Speeder. And while it's hard to find the Rey 3.75-inch action figure on store shelves, that's true for any of The Force Awakens characters. There's an abundance of Poe Dameron and Finn figures, but try finding Rey, Captain Phasma and Kylo Ren and they're all sold out everywhere. So is it a lack of figures or the popularity of those figures causing them to be sold out?
There are also more Rey (as well as other characters) figures and sets on the way, scheduled for release after The Force Awakens hits theaters. My guess is that this is to avoid spoiler territory for the film. This Rey Lego figure is one example.
