Star Wars fans were left disappointed after Ahsoka footage due to release weekend failed to release, prompting fans to ask what happened to the footage. Well, we may have an answer.
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You may recall that Disney announced towards the tail end of last month that a ‘Special Look’ at Lucasfilm’s upcoming Disney+ series, Ahsoka, was slated to debut at ESSENCE Fest Primetime during Disney’s virtual showcase on Saturday, July 1st. As fans eagerly anticipated the footages release, they were left empty handed as the special look failed to release. Many online began speculating that the release of the ‘special look’ was delayed due to issues that arose on Twitter that same day. Without warning a vast number of Twitter users encountered a ‘rate limit exceeded’ message when scrolling on the app, with Twitter owner, Elon Musk, later adding that the social media juggernaut had implemented temporary limits to users of the platform which saw the average non-verified user limited to viewing just six hundred tweets a day and paid Twitter Blue subscribers able to view six thousand tweets a day. Since then both Blue subscribers and non-subscribers have had their view rates raised, but it’s unclear if the limits have been lifted or when they will be.
At the time this was merely speculation and in the days that have passed, the speculation has only grown surrounding the topic. Now within those days both myself and credited Star Wars insider, MakingStarWars, have both heard individually from separate sources that the release of the ‘special look’ footage was delayed due to the limits placed on Twitter over the weekend and likely caused Disney and Lucasfilm to alter their release plans. Neither I or MakingStarWars have heard as to when the ‘special look’ will now release.
The Twitter upset over the weekend is seemingly still ongoing, with users seeking out Twitter alternatives such as Bluesky and Mastodon. Seemingly keen to capitalise on Twitter’s current issues, Meta, the company behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp is gearing up to release their Twitter competitor, Threads, this Thursday. The app is a text based social media platform similar to Twitter with users simply needing to sign in with their Instagram account to begin posting on the app. It’s been reported that Threads already has a line up of influencers and celebrities ready to promote the app upon its Thursday launch including Oprah Winfrey. I personally plan on being active on the Threads app at launch, so be sure to follow on Instagram ahead of time so you can easily find me on Threads.
As to what the Ahsoka footage set to be released at ESSENCE Fest was, nobody truly knows. I’m sure many fans were hoping for a possible ‘official trailer’ release following April’s teaser. That would have been the best outcome, but I had personally lowered my expectations and was leaning more towards a behind the scenes sizzle reel of sorts. Lucasfilm president, Kathleen Kennedy, previously unveiled behind the scenes footage of Ahsoka at Disney’s Upfront event in May, with the footage being shown to those exclusively in the room. It’s not unlike Disney to re-use footage used for other events and outings – back in December 2020, Disney showcased a sizzle reel for Obi-Wan Kenobi which featured pieces of concept art and footage of Ewan McGregor and Deborah Chow discussing the series at their Shareholder meeting, which was available to the public, but that reel was held for back. It was later released publicly on Disney+ day in September 2021 on Disney’s streaming service.
I’m undoubtedly sure that promotion for the Ahsoka series will ramp up later this month, and an ‘official trailer’ will likely release within the next few weeks ahead of the series debuting on Disney+ on August 23rd.
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