Over the years, the Star Wars films have captivated the hearts and minds of millions of people around the world. For 32-year-old Daniel Fleetwood, his life-long love of the franchise began when he was just 8 years old.
As other Star Wars fans have been excitedly awaiting the December 18th release date of the newest film, Daniel has been worrying whether or not he’ll live long enough to make it to the movie’s release, as he has spindle cell sarcoma, which is a cancer that effects the connective tissues.
Daniel was originally diagnosed in 2012, but as of September 2nd, doctors gave him two months to live. Despite making it past those two months, he doesn’t believe he’ll make it to the release date.
“Judging by how progressive the disease has gotten in the past two months,” Daniel explained to NBC News’ Houston affiliate, “I really don’t think I’ll be able to make it.”
Originally, Daniel and his wife Ashley were interviewed by NBC Houston’s Keith Garvin to see if anything could be done to let Daniel see the movie before it was too late.
“He still has … that love and I think that it’s a beautiful thing,” Ashley said. “Even if it’s just a movie, that’s magic for a lot of people.”
Once Star Wars fans learned of Daniel’s story, they started an online campaign to get Disney to allow Daniel to get an early screening of the film. The campaign gained momentum and the hashtag #ForceForDaniel went viral last week.
#forcefordaniel help my man get his last wish, to see a screening of Star Wars before cancer takes him. @bad_robot pic.twitter.com/XCuYD0KlpY
— Ashley Fleetwood (@pandorashley) October 29, 2015
The campaign got so big that even Star Wars actors Carrie Fisher, John Boyega, and Mark Hamill tweeted out their support for Daniel’s cause.
Finally, Daniel’s wish came true, as he was sent an unedited version of the film, and was even called by J.J. Abrams, the film’s director.
Can you believe Disney granted this man’s dying wish? Share with us in the comments below.
[Update: Daniel passed away on 11/10, just days after seeing the unedited film. Rest in peace Daniel.]
[Featured image credit: MSNBC]