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So, I’ve been thinking about this a bit for the past 24 hours.  I have no idea what the source of the JoeCon rescheduling is, in all honesty.  I don’t know if there was a real issue with the venue, something with Paramount and a potential Retaliation screening, or some sort of Hasbro dictation that determined this rescheduling, but the end result is a pretty strange confluence of circumstances, resulting in some serious scheduling conflicts for pretty much every Joe fan.

It’s the summer of 2012, and G.I. Joe fans everywhere are going to be all fired up to go see G.I. Joe: Retaliation.

When does G.I. Joe: Retaliation hit theaters?

June 29th.

When is the first night of Convention registration?

June 28th.

Sooo…  here’s the question.  G.I. Joe fans (like myself) who are extremely fired up for G.I. Joe: Retaliation are going to have our hands full in New Orleans on the first weekend of G.I. Joe: Retaliation’s release.  And Joe fans will be excitedly running out to the theaters while they could be absorbing the great news and info from Joe Con.  Of course, this new timing I would think almost guarantees a special Convention screening of the film, and even if it’s not done officially, the fans can certainly invade theaters themselves, though with the rush of regular movie goers during the official release that might prove challenging.

I think having the Con the week before the film was a great idea.  The chance for a “sneak preview” for Con attendees (if that was even an option), plus it gets the blood pumping in the fandom who are only too eager to run to theaters and drop cash on movie tickets for the Retaliation film the next week. Considering the movie was actually filmed in New Orleans and has a strong connection to that area also makes a Convention event likely and potentially enjoyable, and who knows, perhaps that’s an opportunity for some of the production team to be in attendance.  One would almost think the theatrical release might draw them to larger venues, though.

Granted, the end result will be a weekend chock full of G.I. Joe related excitement, but I can’t help but think some of the Convention excitement and atmosphere will end up lost in the shuffle of Retaliation conversation.  I know I was really looking forward to being online and participating in some heavy duty G.I. Joe: Retaliation post-premiere enthusiasm, and instead I’ll be in New Orleans practically disconnected from the web covering news from the Convention floor.  A bit disappointing, but perhaps that’s just me.

The end result is a weekend of over-the-top G.I. Joe insanity, but part of me wishes it could have been drawn out over two weeks and given fans everywhere a chance to experience both.  Ultimately I would think the G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club would have wanted the same thing.  Perhaps it was their decision, perhaps it wasn’t, but I think the end result provides some curious challenges for the Club and for the fans as well.  We’ll have to see how it all turns out.