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Daniel Fleetwood, a 31-year-old Texas man suffering from an
aggressive form of cancer that has spread to 90 percent of his
lungs, was able to watch an early cut of the highly anticipated
new "Star Wars" film, due in theaters on Dec. 18, 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 JJ Abrams for calling us yesterday to tell us Daniel
was getting his wish granted!" she said.
Daniel Fleetwood's dying wish to see "The Force Awakens" went
viral on social media in the past week with the hashtag #ForceForDaniel,
which garnered 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.
The plot of "The Force Awakens," the seventh film installment in
George Lucas's widely popular "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
only been given three brief teaser trailers in the past year.
Presales for the opening of "The Force Awakens" in theaters have
already broken U.S. and international records.
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Ken Wills)
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