Going all the way back to Princess Leia, the Star Wars galaxy has always offered audiences some of the most compelling and exciting female characters in pop culture, a trend continued with The Force Awakens‘ Rey and Rogue One‘s Jyn Erso. These characters are so popular, in fact, that eBay has recently confirmed that Rey is the most searched for female character on the auction site.
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The site confirmed that users search for The Last Jedi character nearly 7,000 times every hour, with results ranging from toys to costumes to posters that honor the budding Jedi. According to the site, recent years have seen a shift away from the typical Disney princesses to full-fledged action stars, with Wonder Woman’s activity increasing 13 times since her film debuted earlier this summer.
The Star Wars legacy is felt strongly on the service, as Leia Organa and all of her collectibles are still considered to be one of the most popular on the site. Another character known for her adventuring skills that is considered one of the most sought-after on the service is Lara Croft, who will be appearing in next year’s Tomb Raider, played by Alicia Vikander.
Classic Disney princesses still remain a hot property for collectors, with characters like Beauty and the Beast‘s Belle and The Little Mermaid‘s Ariel being some of the company’s most popular icons. The Frozen fad is still moving strongly, with Elsa continuing to be a popular character and, of course, Barbie continues her reign of collectibles, having been a go-to name in the collecting world for decades.
In The Force Awakens, Rey only began to tap into her Force abilities, with The Last Jedi set to explore what she’s capable of in a much larger capacity. This means Daisy Ridley had to get much more familiar with a lightsaber, a task that’s easier said than done.
“They’re really heavy,” Daisy Ridley told Vogue of the prop. “Three, four, five kilos? And the weight’s very unevenly distributed.”
After growing accustomed to the weight and balance of the Jedi weapon, she still couldn’t swing it around willy-nilly for her scenes.
“You do, like, eight thwacks one way, eight the other, eight up, eight down,” Ridley revealed of her preparation. Given the strenuous physical exertion required, the actress even joked about offering the training regimen as a way to get in shape, referring to it as “Lightsaber school.”
Fans will see more of Rey when The Last Jedi hits theaters on December 15.
[H/T eBay]