Walt Disney awakens to marketing to females

Rey (Daisy Ridley) is a resilient survivor in “Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens.” The scavenger has been toughened by a lifetime of dealing with the cutthroats of the harsh desert world of Jakku. Lucasfilm

los angeles» Walt Disney Co. has what could be its most formidable heroine ever in Rey, a main character in “Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens.” She could be a merchandising juggernaut, too.

In trailers, the protagonist, played by English actress Daisy Ridley, races a landspeeder, wields a stafflike weapon and helps pick an exhausted male ally up off the ground. Not much is known about her, because Disney’s keeping a lid on details before the movie’s Dec. 18 opening. One sure thing is that Rey is part of a push by the world’s largest entertainment company to attract more girls and women to the “Star Wars” franchise, and extract more money from them.

It’s a smart move, said Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Jessica Reif Cohen. “This is going to be massively financially successful. Literally everyone I know wants to see this movie, male or female.”

Disney has expanded “Star Wars” merchandise to include cosmetics, jewelry and purses, quite a change for a line historically dominated by lightsabers and spaceships. There’s demand: Social-media firestorms erupted when Internet critics decided Under Armour and Target hadn’t produced enough female-oriented items tied to the film.

There have been other bumps. Licensees including Hasbro and Lego have churned out Rey goods in large numbers, but while Rey figurines are on prominent display in Disney stores, they can be harder to locate in places such as Target or Toys “R” Us. And retailers have reported Rey products