Where do we start our Ahsoka UK Fan Screening adventure? We start close to Waterloo Station, where the Fantha Tracks gang met up to grab a bite to eat before heading to the BFI IMAX on the South Bank where crowds were already building for the screening of the first two episodes.
Pizza eaten and battle plans made we said a quick hello to the free-roaming Droid Builders, including Lee Towersey who was down for this very special screening.
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The queues were hefty and full of familiar and friendly faces, and as the doors opened at 6.15pm ahead of a 7.15pm start the excitement was palpable. Inside was a number of photo opportunities, including this gorgeous Ahsoka logo wall that the Fantha gang leapt in front of in our best Band on the Run recreation (with lightsabers).
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Disney photographers were there to cover the event, snapping fans and celebrities as they waited in the foyer and entered the huge IMAX screen, taking their seats as our host Edith Bowman gave us the regulation housekeeping information regarding embargo dates, and once the grown-up stuff was over played trailers for Marvel’s Loki Season 2 and from Rogue One director Gareth Edwards The Creator (which looked incredible).
Trailers done, cans of water opened (cans?), popcorn bags popped and seats taken, the adventure was about to being. It’s unbelievable that a TV show can be screened on an IMAX screen (though not in the IMAX format, which was made clear) and look like a movie, but they managed it. Check out or reviews across the Fantha Tracks network for our thoughts on the first two episodes ‘Master and Apprentice‘ and ‘Toil and Trouble‘.
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With Star Wars off the big screen for a number of years, we’ve been starved of such events, and while Disney were keen to reinforce the detail that this was a fan screening rather than a premiere (the ongoing US actors strike scuppered any attendance by the cast and crew of the show) that didn’t dampen the excitement and anticipation one bit. All costume groups were represented, and we mingled (far too briefly) with our pals from Star Wars Sessions and Future of the Force. The sooner we can enjoy big noisy premieres the better – communal events like this are the lifeblood of the fandom, be they at the BFI IMAX or a fan led convention in a sports hall down the road.
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Taking his roving eye around the room, Paul McQue was able to grab a flavour of the day as Ahsoka costumers and fans enjoyed a memorable night.
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You can hear our first Making Tracks Reaction Chat of the season as Mark Newbold and Mark Mulcaster chat with Fantha Trackers Clair Henry, Matt Booker, Richard Mitchell, Paul McQue and Andy Lyth (along with R2-D2 operator Lee Towersey). Stay tuned, as there’s plenty more reaction to the first two episodes of Ahsoka to follow ahead of the third episode next week.
