It was Hasbro, in the boardroom, with a healthy dose of feminism that killed “Clue” mainstay Mrs. White.
“It was a difficult decision to say goodbye to Mrs. White — but after 70 years of suspicious activity, we decided that one of the characters had to go,” Jonathan Berkowitz, Hasbro Gaming’s senior vice president of global marketing, said in a statement.
“Dr. Orchid is a brilliant new character with a rich backstory and links to the Black fortune. We’re sure families around the world will continue to create thrilling murder mysteries with all six suspects inside of the iconic Tudor Mansion.”
Based on the above Hasbro photo, the Asian-appearing Dr. Orchid is also the only person of color in
Orchid is “a biologist with a PhD in plant toxicology, privately schooled in Switzerland until her expulsion following a near-fatal daffodil poisoning incident,” per Hasbro. “She was then home-schooled by the very woman she would go on to replace, the late housekeeper, Mrs. White.”
The company went on to fill out Orchid’s backstory as the adoptive daughter of Tudor Mansion’s rightful owner, Samuel Black. She’ll join Miss Scarlet, Professor Plum, Mrs. Peacock, Mr. Green, and Col. Mustard in new “Clue” sets beginning next month.
Invented by British musician Anthony E. Pratt, “Clue” first launched in 1949. Hasbro has been making the “Clue” sets since the early ’90s, when the toy company bought previous manufacturers Parker Brothers and Waddingtons.
“Clue” was adapted into a feature film in 1985. Written and directed by Jonathan Lynn, the movie version starred Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean and Martin Mull, among others.
(A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the 1985 movie version of “Clue” was written by John Landis.)