CHICAGO, USA – A terminally ill Star Wars fan is hoping producers will grant his dying wish of an early screening of the latest installment of the sci-fi blockbuster.
An online campaign to support his quest drew the attention of Mark Hamill – the actor who plays the legendary Luke Skywalker – who retweeted two Twitter posts hoping to bring the "Force for Daniel."
{source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/0kwX0rbh4b">https://t.co/0kwX0rbh4b</a> MAKE this happen, please. For the love of the force, its a man's last request. <a href="https://twitter.com/amellywood">@amellywood</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/HamillHimself">@HamillHimself</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/starwars">@starwars</a></p>— Hasan Saeed (@HasanSaeed6) <a href="https://twitter.com/HasanSaeed6/status/660163085156663296">October 30, 2015</a></blockquote>
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{source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A dying man's wish to see <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StarWars?src=hash">#StarWars</a> The Force Awakens Help spread the word : <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ForceForDaniel?src=hash">#ForceForDaniel</a> <a href="https://t.co/0tA3ET3DdH">https://t.co/0tA3ET3DdH</a> <a href="https://t.co/zbWM7VhvGK">pic.twitter.com/zbWM7VhvGK</a></p>— Nerd Fu (@TheNerdFu) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheNerdFu/status/660105675578589185">October 30, 2015</a></blockquote>
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John Boyega, who plays the lead character Finn in the upcoming The Force Awakens, also retweeted a Tweet about the campaign.
{source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A dying man's wish to see <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StarWars?src=hash">#StarWars</a> The Force Awakens Help spread the word : <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ForceForDaniel?src=hash">#ForceForDaniel</a> <a href="https://t.co/0tA3ET3DdH">https://t.co/0tA3ET3DdH</a> <a href="https://t.co/zbWM7VhvGK">pic.twitter.com/zbWM7VhvGK</a></p>— Nerd Fu (@TheNerdFu) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheNerdFu/status/660105675578589185">October 30, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Daniel Fleetwood, 32, has been a fan since he was 8 or 9 years old. He is dying of a rare form of connective tissue cancer.
His doctors told him in July that he only had a couple of months left to live, but he says his desire to see The Force Awakens – set for wide release on December 18 – is helping him to hold on.
"I just love Star Wars," he told KPRC-TV in Houston, Texas. "With everything I got, I love Star Wars."
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Fleetwood is spending his last days at his Texas home in hospice care with his wife, Ashley, who is grateful for his love of the movie.
"It's a commitment and he still has that commitment, that drive, and that love and I think that it's a beautiful thing," she said. "Even if it's just a movie. That's magic for a lot of people."
Unfortunately, they don't think he will be able to last another 6 weeks.
"Judging by how progressive the disease has gotten in the past two months, I really don’t think that I'll be able to make it," he said as he rocked back and forth, wearing a shirt declaring "Vader Don't Care."
"Please do what you can. Help me."
There is a precedent for his request: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams granted a similar wish to a Star Trek fan, Daniel Craft, who died shortly after watching a rough cut of Star Trek Into Darkness in 2013. – Rappler.com