Last week marked the second celebration of Force Friday, the first Friday of September preceding the holiday release of a brand-new Star Wars film. It's a day where Star Wars fans everywhere are overwhelmed with a bevy of new action figures and toy blasters to Funko Pop! vinyl figures, LEGO sets and t-shirts to hunt for.

RELATED: LEGO Reveals New Star Wars: The Last Jedi Sets for Force Friday

If you've been keeping up with the marketing and advertising for the event, however, you'll notice that something quite different is happening. This time, Daisy Ridley's character Rey, the franchise's foremost female character, is positioned front and center, like a beacon. On Force Friday II ads, banners and promos, Rey was prominently featured, flanked by fellow principal characters Poe Dameron, Finn, Kylo Ren and others. On September 1, numerous new Rey figures were released, highlighting her new costume, her unmistakable hairstyle and, last but certainly not least, her lightsaber.

This release is almost a statement, a declaration that Rey, the Jedi, is coming to take the world by storm. This focus on the heroic and inspiring female hero puts the character at the heart of Star War: The Last Jedi, and it marks a noticeable shift in the massive franchise's usual marketing.

Finn, Rey and Rose From Star Wars: Episode IX - The Last Jedi

Two years ago, the first Force Friday arrived, dutifully hyping up the release of director J.J. Abrams' The Force Awakens. Overall, the marketing focused on elements Star Wars fans everywhere were familiar with -- Chewbacca, Han Solo, C-3PO and the Millennium Falcon were the most prominent figures of the toy-tastic event -- while throwing in some of the new, with intriguing looks at more importantly the new adorable droid BB-8 and the mysterious dark lord Kylo Ren. The masked figure of Kylo, the orange-and-white ball of a robot and the return of the classic characters were all that the fans needed to be sold on this movie. But while Rey was one of the main characters of The Force Awakens -- maybe even the most important of all -- she was largely omitted when it came to the marketing. Whether this was done purposefully for story reasons, in order to keep the character a secret, or it was done because of a lack of faith in a female character's capacity to lead a Star Wars film, fans will never know for sure.

What is certain, however, is that Disney and Lucasfilm aren't shy of positioning Rey as the main draw for the new installment in the multi-billion dollar sci-fi franchise. The teaser trailer for The Last Jedi took the first step, showing us that the movie's story would greatly focus on her training under the tutelage of Luke Skywalker. Force Friday II cemented the idea that, as the first female Jedi to grace the screen, Rey is a character who represents a lot for women and young girls everywhere, an audience who never felt fully represented in a male-dominated galaxy far, far away.

To see how much the character is an inspiring and motivating figure for women everywhere, look no further than Target's “Bring Your Rey Game” ad, the store's very own take on how to market the Force Friday II event.

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It's no secret that there was a strong demand for more Rey-themed merchandise when The Force Awakens arrived. The infamous Monopoly set that was missing a Rey figurine was a story that gained a lot of traction at the time. Now, Rey is at the front of The Last Jedi's marketing blitz, marking a massive shift in how Lucasfilm sells its franchise. Even the release of last year's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, a movie that had the female rebel Jyn Erso as its main protagonist, saw marketing that mainly focused on Darth Vader, the Death Star and the Stormtroopers. The movie's main character, Jyn, didn't get much in the way of marketing spotlight, though she did have more of a presence then Rey did for The Force Awakens. Now, Lucasfilm and Disney have established Rey as the main character of the new trilogy going forward, a perfect reflection of the current times.

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Rey's Star Wars Prominence Is Just Part of Hollywood's Wake-Up Call

There has recently been a strong push, a call for diversity, when it comes to women in the entertainment industry. This year alone has seen the first female superhero, Wonder Woman, smash her way onto the silver screen in a movie whose critical and popular reception was unprecedented. The movie shattered box-office records, positioning Wonder Woman as one of the world's biggest and most important heroes, not just for who she is and what she can do, but because of what she means to women everywhere. Then came the announcement that Jodie Whittaker has been cast as a female version of The Doctor in the long-running BBC series Doctor Who, the first-ever in the series' 54-year history. The announcement was met with a lot of praise, marking a tonal shift not just for the series, but for television and movies everywhere.

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We've come to a point where there is an active and constant call for female roles of substance in popular movies. When it comes to movie marketing, the worldwide stage doesn't get any bigger than Star Wars, thus it's the perfect place to make a statement, to declare that women deserve heroes they see themselves reflected in, and that young girls deserve their very own source of inspiration. The Star Wars universe is a massive place, chock-full of important male characters, so Rey isn't taking anything from anyone. She's the latest in a long line of heroes, proving that strength comes from within, and anyone, male or female, can be worthy to become a Jedi.

RELATED: The Dark Side: 15 Reasons Last Jedi Will Be The DARKEST Star Wars Yet

While The Last Jedi is still months away from its theatatrical release, we've already seen how the Star Wars franchise is changing. It started with The Force Awakens, and it was furthered with Rogue One and Star Wars: Forces of Destiny, a series of animated shorts focusing on the franchise's female characters. Now, The Last Jedi is set to take it all even further. It's still the same universe, but it's one that is becoming even more inclusive. This is a paradigm shift for Star Wars, one that could open up the door for even more possibilities down the line. It's a new hope (yes, A New Hope) for women of all ages.