Happy New Year!
Finally, we can put 2016 behind us and hope for a better year. As I sift through the “#worstyearever” hashtag, I feel as though I need to remind myself of the good things that were given us in 2016. Certainly, this doesn’t make up for all those that we’ve lost this year—Alan Rickman and Carrie Fisher were especially close to my fandom heart—but it does mean something.
This past year—this very month, in fact—we saw Carrie Fisher’s character on the big screen once again, in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. We also saw a spinoff movie from the Harry Potter series in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
We saw the end of Downton Abbey and the first Game of Thrones season that was unpredictable even for book readers. We saw another GeekyCon in Orlando, as well as the return of LeakyCon (in LA), a totally immersive Harry Potter fan experience, which was made possible thanks to Cursed Child and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them both coming out this year.
We may have seen the end of MythBusters, but we also saw The White Rabbit Project rise on Netflix from its ashes.
We saw so many updates to Pottermore last year, including the return of the Hogwarts sorting quiz and the wand sorting quiz, plus the addition of the Ilvermorny sorting quiz and the Patronus sorting quiz. All are on the Pottermore Sorting page.
But enough recap. Let’s move on with the seven (not seventeen) fandoms and events that I’m excited about in 2017!
#7 Pottermore
No list is complete on FictionRow without Pottermore. Sometimes, I think I need to simply do away with all the other content in favor of focusing on Pottermore content, because that’s what most people come to this website to see. But that would probably drive me crazy, as I’m always getting upset over the Pottermore changes that I don’t like. (I miss the original version.)
That being said, you never know what the new year will bring. Since we won’t see a new Fantastic Beasts movie until November 2018, and since it’s not like Jo is planning a Cursed Child 2, it’s unlikely that we’ll get much new content on Pottermore either. However, if we do, I’ll be ready. You never know: my Pottermore Index could have links to over 100 articles in 2017!
#6 Robert Galbraith
Guess what? J.K. Rowling stated on her Twitter last week that she’s planning on releasing two new books in 2017!
One is very likely the fourth Robert Galbraith book. Now, I set myself a goal every year to read more than 20 books. Once again, I waited until the last minute to read book numbers 12 through 21, so I read the ten shortest books on my Kindle. This means that, unfortunately, I still haven’t read Roberts Galbraith’s second or third novels yet. Hopefully I get to them in 2017!
(Hopefully I get to them before the fourth is released.)
#5 A New J.K. Rowling Book
Now, it’s entirely possible that the other book that Jo is releasing could be Harry Potter-related. However, it’s more likely that JKR is gearing up for “another” Casual Vacancy. That is, a book that is a standalone story. Not part of the Robert Galbraith series, or the Harry Potter series, or the Fantastic Beasts series, or even at all related to Casual Vacancy.
Which I still haven’t read. I’m such a terrible fan. Another goal for 2017, I guess.
#4 LeakyCon and BroadwayCon
When the date and location for LeakyCon 2017 was announced during LeakyCon 2016 in LA, my heart went through the worst rollercoaster ride. First, the location: Dublin, Ireland. I mean, I’ll have to renew my Passport, but I am totally ready to go back to the British Isles. The timing is perfect. I was in England in 2007, and now I’m going to Ireland in 2017. How perfect.
Second, the date: Labor Day weekend. THE TIMING IS MOST CERTAINLY NOT PERFECT. Could Mischief have picked a worse weekend for me? Yes, as a fan, I want to be there when Albus Severus boards the Hogwarts Express to go to school, because 2017 is 19 years after the Battle of Hogwarts, but as a teacher, I AM ALSO GOING BACK TO SCHOOL.
Anyway. It’s very unlikely that I will be able to go to LeakyCon 2017, just as it is always very unlikely for me to go to BroadwayCon. Especially this year, because not only is it in the midst of one act play contest season, as it always is, but the school where I teach is also hosting the sub-section contest this year, so I will have far too much on my plate in planning that to do anything else.
So I’m not quite sure why I’ve included number four on this list, seeing as I can’t attend either one, but I’m certainly excited for my friends (oh so many friends) who are going to both conventions without me. Have extra fun for me!
#3 Con of Thrones in Nashville
There is, however, one Mischief con that I will be able to attend, and that one is Con of Thrones: “the largest-ever convention for fans of Game of Thrones, A Song of Ice and Fire, and the epic worlds of fantasy author George R. R. Martin”. I hope to finish reading the Song of Ice and Fire series before then, or even before season seven comes out on HBO.
Con of Thrones is brought to you by Mischief Management in conjunction with the Game of Owns podcast, which I also need to finish listening to before June 30th. I might have to skip ahead and listen to just the episodes from 2016.
#2 Game of Thrones Season 7
Season 6 ended with the cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers. Daenerys Targaryen is finally, FINALLY, making her way back to Westeros. What will happen when she gets there? Will she team up with Jon Snow? Will the White Walkers attack before she even has a change to take the Iron Throne from Cersei Lannister? We are marching ever close to the end game.
Who will win the Game of Thrones in the end? Who else will die? Will GRRM finally release the Winds of Winter?
#1 Star Wars: Episode VIII
What will it be called? Whose daughter is Rey? What role will Luke play in training her? How much will I weep when I see Carrie Fisher on the screen for the last time? What role will General Organa play in the next movie? Will her character die and be with Han? So many questions yet unanswered. This is why I am most excited for the Star Wars fandom in 2017.
Speaking of Star Wars, I have two articles that I still haven’t released: my review of The Force Awakens (released last year), plus my review of Rogue One (released a couple weeks ago). I also still need to review Mockingjay, Part 2 (also released last year), plus Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (released last month). I sincerely hope to get to these in January.
Which fandoms are you most excited about in 2017? Share yours in the comments!
