J.J. Abrams: 'Star Wars Monopoly row is preposterous'

Director J.J. Abrams has blasted bosses at the Hasbro toy firm for failing to include Daisy Ridley's character Rey in a Star Wars version of Monopoly.

Fans took to social media to complain about the exclusion of leading character Rey from the Star Wars: The Force Awakens-themed Monopoly game using the hashtags #WheresRey and #WhereIsRey.

Following the backlash, Hasbro bosses announced last week (ends10Jan16) they would include Rey in an updated version of the game which will be made available later in 2016.

Abrams weighed in on the controversy during a TV press conference in California over the weekend (09-10Jan16), admitting the decision to exclude Rey made little sense as she is such a central character.

"I wish I had more details about merchandising and the schedule... I'm learning things as you are. I will say that it seems preposterous and wrong that the main character of the movie is not well represented in what is clearly a huge piece of the Star Wars world in terms of merchandising," he said.

"I read that she wasn't in the Monopoly game and was quickly making phone calls about this because if it were true - and it is true, and now Hasbro, of course, has said they're going to put Rey in - it doesn't quite make sense why she wouldn't be there. She's somewhat important in the story."