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JJ Abrams arranged for dying Star Wars fan to see ‘The Force Awakens’ six weeks early

Published Nov 6th, 2015 5:05PM EST
Star Wars The Force Awakens
Image: Star Wars

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A terminally ill Star Wars fan who may not live long enough to view Star Wars: The Force Awakens when it hits theaters next month was given the opportunity to watch the film weeks before its release.

Daniel Fleetwood, just 31-years old, tragically suffers from a rare and aggressive form of cancer. Currently, more than 90% of Fleetwood’s lungs are affected by tumors. With doctors giving him just one to two more months to live, one of the last things he wanted to do was to watch the upcoming Star Wars movie, a wish that his all-star of a wife Ashley Fleetwood made happen.

DON’T MISS: Alternate version of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ trailer reveals a ton of brand-new footage

Ashley began a social media campaign on Twitter that quickly picked up steam, even garnering retweets with a ForceForDaniel hashtag from Star Wars actors  Mark Hamill, John Boyega, and Carrie Fisher.

Ultimately, the hard work paid off. Yesterday, Ashley published a Facebook post thanking everyone for their support and relaying how Disney and Lucasfilm provided Daniel with an advanced screening of the film. He even got a personal phone call from JJ Abrams who delivered the news.

The Facebook post reads:

To all our wonderful supporters, friends, family and awesome strangers: Daniels final dream was just granted!!! Today the wonderful Disney and Lucasfilms made his final dream come true, in the amazing typical Disney way, they really do make dreams come true!

Daniel just finished watching an unedited version of Star Wars: The Force Awakens!!! We would like to thank the awesomely talented JJ Abrams for calling us yesterday to tell us Danjel was getting his wish granted! We also would like to thank Lynne, Ben and Anahuac for coming to our home and screening the movie for Daniel. Lastly I want to thank ALL the amazing people who helped make this happen, thank you beyond words!!! May the force be with you all smile emoticon ‪#‎forcefordaniel‬ !!!!

After hearing of the story, Mark Hamill chimed in on Twitter.

“If I got to see the movie, I might actually die from happiness,” Daniel told People Magazine before his wish came true. “Growing up, I would watch the movies over and over and analyze every little detail. I hope I get to see what happens.”

And now he has. Truly, a heartwarming yet ultimately sad story.

Yoni Heisler Contributing Writer

Yoni Heisler has been writing about Apple and the tech industry at large with over 15 years of experience. A life long expert Mac user and Apple expert, his writing has appeared in Edible Apple, Network World, MacLife, Macworld UK, and TUAW.

When not analyzing the latest happenings with Apple, Yoni enjoys catching Improv shows in Chicago, playing soccer, and cultivating new TV show addictions.