One of the biggest part of any Star Wars movie (aside from the film itself) are the waves of branded merchandise released before and after the premiere that are designed to capitalize on fans' excitement. For the past few weeks, retailers around the country have been participating in "Force Fridays," coordinated roll-outs of Star Wars gadgets and toys like the wildly popular $150 BB-8 remote control droid that's still difficult to find in stores.
Amongst the hundreds of manufacturers slapping Death Stars on its wares in the hopes that you'll fork over your cash for them is Under Armour, the clothier one imagines the Galactic Empire might hire to outfit Stormtroopers with thermals. The brand recently unveiled its latest line of Star Wars-inspired clothes via its online store, but something was very, very missing from its web pages.
Not a single piece of clothing was designed for women or girls. Under the selection "all genders" women and girls are conspicuously missing.
Under Armour, mind you, does typically make sports garments for women, but the absence of female-oriented products in this particular case is baffling. The Force Awakens, unlike most of the Star Wars films before it is going to be largely driven by female characters. In addition to Carrie Fischer's Leia Organa, the movie's set to feature Rey, portrayed by Daisy Ridley, and Gwendolyne Christie as Captain Phasma, the baddest (and only) Chrome Trooper anyone has ever seen.
What's worse is that most of Under Armour's new Star Wars line features characters and set pieces that aren't even from the movie. Darth Vader's been dead, and the likelihood of the Republic sitting idly by while another Death Star is built seems vanishingly low.
It's not like ladies' Star Wars clothes are impossible to design. Other clothing stores like Target and Think Geek seem to be managing just fine.
Understandably, a number of female Star Wars fans have taken to Twitter to express their disappointment in Under Armour's decision to leave them out of the nerdy fun.
If Under Armour sees the error of its ways and plans on updating its line to reflect the broader, diverse fanbase of Star Wars fans that's actually out there, it's got plenty of time. We can only hope that they're listening.
We've reached out to Under Armour for comment and will update if and when we hear back.
UPDATE: Under Armour has reached out via Twitter insisting that there will be more clothes made for women and girls in the coming weeks.
Disclosure: Fusion is partly owned by Disney’s ABC network. Disney also owns Lucasfilm and Star Wars.