Daniel Fleetwood had his last wish granted last week when Disney gave him a screening of the unfinished rough cut of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
The 32-year-old was suffering a rare and aggressive cancer called spindle cell sarcoma and back in July, doctors had given him just two months to live.
His wife Ashley announced Fleetwood’s death on Facebook on Tuesday.
“Daniel put up an amazing fight to the very end. He is now one with God and with the force. He passed in his sleep and in peace. He will always be my idol and my hero. Please hug uncle Marc for me and give Lucy lots of kisses. Rest in peace my love. This was the last selfie we ever took together. #forcefordaniel,” she wrote.
A social media campaign was launched to persuade Disney to allow the saga’s biggest fan to see it. The hashtag #ForceForDaniel trended and director J.J. Abrams called Fleetwood himself to tell him the good news.
What Mamamia reported earlier…
Star Wars fans are among the most devoted and ardent and prone to dressing up in character of any in the world.
There’s one particular Star Wars fan, though, who is so devoted that his bucket list had just one item: to see the new Star Wars installment, The Force Awakens, before he dies.
Texas man Daniel Fleetwood, 32, is dying from a rare cancer called spindle cell carcinoma, and he doesn’t believe he’ll be alive by the film’s December 18 release date.
Watch NBC News’ report on Daniel Fleetwood from earlier this week… Post continues after video.
A Twitter campaign, #ForceForDaniel, saw loads of friends and supporters rally for Fleetwood to be allowed to see the movie ahead of time.
Star Wars actors Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher tweeted their support, and the final push came from the film’s director JJ Abrams.
Disney fulfilled Fleetwood’s wish with a private screening of an unedited version of The Force Awakens.
Fleetwood was diagnosed with cancer in 2012.
In July, doctors told him he had two months to live after it was discovered his lungs were 90 per cent covered in tumours, according to NBC News.
“His dad got him into Star Wars when he was eight or nine years old. He instantly fell in love with Star Wars and it just grew from there,” his wife Ashley, 29, told NBC News. She said that, proving his Star Wars fan credentials Fleetwood has dressed up and camped out for all the previous Star Wars movies.
Fleetwood watched his final Star Wars movie from the comfort of his own home, following a phone call from the film’s director JJ Abrams.
Ashley Fleetwood posted a message of thanks to Facebook:
To all our wonderful supporters, friends, family and awesome strangers: Daniels final dream was just granted!!! Today the wonderful Disney, Bad Robot and Lucasfilm teams made his final dream come true, 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! Lastly I want to thank ALL the amazing people who helped make this happen!!! May the force be with you all #forcefordaniel.
Top Comments
And now he is one with the Force. Rest in peace. I'm so glad your wish was able to come true
There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force.
The Jedi Code shall guide me
Sometimes humans are just awesome.....so glad Daniel got to see this xx