Star Wars fan gets dying wish to see The Force Awakens before release
Daniel Fleetwood, a 31-year-old Texas man suffering from an aggressive form of cancer that has spread to 90% of his lungs, was able to watch an early cut of the highly anticipated new Star Wars film, due in US theaters on 18 December, his wife Ashley Fleetwood said on Facebook. "Daniel just finished watching an unfinished version of Star Wars: The Force Awakens!!! We would like to thank the awesomely talented [director] JJ Abramsfor calling us yesterday to tell us Daniel was getting his wish granted!" she wrote. Daniel Fleetwood's dying wish to see The Force Awakens went viral on social media in the past week with the hashtag #ForceForDaniel, garnering the support of Star Wars actors Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) and newcomer John Boyega. Hamill tweeted on Thursday that he was "elated" that Fleetwood had been able to see the film. Fleetwood and his wife have been documenting his health on social media, and in September he posted an update saying he had been given one or two months to live, due to how fast the cancer had spread. Disney said on Thursday that the screening for Fleetwood had taken place and that "all involved were happy to be able to make it happen". The company did not say where the screening took place, but given Fleetwood's poor health, it is likely to have been at his home. "If I got to see the movie, I might actually die from happiness," Fleetwood had earlier told People magazine. "Growing up, I would watch the movies over and over and analyse every little detail. I hope I get to see what happens." The plot of The Force Awakens, the seventh film instalment in George Lucas's Star Wars universe that will see the return of franchise veterans Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mayhew, has been kept tightly under wraps. Fans have been given only three brief teaser trailers in the past year. Presales for the opening of The Force Awakens have already broken US and international records.
