*Creeps back in* Hey everyone!
Hope you are all well and not suffering too badly with the heatwave wherever you are in the world. I got home from San Diego a couple of days ago to find that the temperature here was just as hot as in California (but minus any relief from air conditioning). That, along with an already exhausted body and horrendous jet-lag completely drained me. So sorry I haven’t updated this blog sooner. Today is the first day that i’ve even had the energy to switch on my laptop.
It’s been a week since my dream of sitting in Hall H for a Marvel panel finally came true, and honestly? I’m still pinching myself that it really happened. If you’d told me way back in 2013 - as I sat in a hospital bed watching Tom Hiddleston appear on stage in full Loki gear - that I would one day sit in that very same hall, chanting ‘Loki’ alongside 6,500 other attendees to the obvious delight of Tom; or that i’d be singing Happy Birthday to Benedict Cumberbatch I would never have believed it possible.
I’ve been to a lot of conventions, and even more gigs, but the atmosphere in that room was unlike anything i’ve ever experienced before. It was quite simply electric.
I took a bunch of photos and videos, but truthfully, by now I think everyone must have seen the footage on YouTube anyway. We were seated quite far back (despite having queued for over 26 hours to get in first on Saturday morning! Yes, you read that right... T W E N T Y S I X h o u r s. We started queuing on Friday morning, slept under the stars, made so many wonderful new friends. Oh, and we might just have adopted some wildlife along the way too!) But it was worth the sleep deprivation, sunburn, and aching feet. We got to watch Sir Patrick Stewart make his triumphant return to the Star Trek family, the entire Westworld panel, and also an inspirational ‘Kick Ass Women’ panel.
But it was immediately apparent that the majority of attendees in that room were waiting for one thing, and one thing only. And boy did Marvel deliver. I can say, without any hesitation that it was genuinely one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
Every single cast member, whether new or old got a rousing reception, and the sneak peeks left us all salivating for more. I don’t know if anything has been leaked online but I wasn’t personally able to video any of the exclusives as we had four members of security directly alongside us (apparently I must look really suspicious!) But I will just say this. As someone who absolutely HATED the official Loki series logo when it was first released, it actually makes a ton more sense when you see how they animated it, trust me.
I’m still in awe of the latest additions to the MCU, with some of my absolute favourite actors and actresses now joining it’s illustrious ranks. And I left Hall H on such a high, doffing my own Black Widow cap to Kevin Feige and the entire Marvel Studios creative team. Phase Four and beyond is going to be another wild ride!
