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Twitter Campaign Hopes To Fulfill Dying Man’s Last Wish To See ‘The Force Awakens’ Early
A 32-year-old cancer patient may not live until Christmas. Due to his illness – and that the man is a huge Star Wars fan – he’s made one final dying wish that has caught the attention of some of the film’s biggest stars: to see The Force Awakens before it hits theaters.
Daniel Fleetwood of Spring, Texas, has been a lifelong fan of the Star Wars film franchise. When the prequel movies were released last decade, Fleetwood made headlines as the first customer to purchase tickets for each movie, having waited on line for days at a time to purchase the coveted tickets.
Sadly, Fleetwood now suffers from a rare connective tissue cancer. According to recent medical examinations, his lungs are filled 90 percent with tumors, meaning he has only “10% lung efficiency,” according to his Facebook page.
I now have 10.% lung efficiency.. Correction; my lungs are 90% filled with tumors.
Posted by Daniel Fleetwood on Monday, November 2, 2015
Fleetwood’s oncologist estimated he would be dead by September, but the couple believes Daniel’s will to see the new film is keeping him alive. However, the film doesn’t open for two more months and the fear Daniel might pass away beforehand has spurred the couple to an unusual request.
Fleetwood and his wife Ashley launched a viral campaign in the hopes executives at Disney and maybe director J.J. Abrams will allow Daniel to see the film prior to its December 18 release date.
The campaign caught the attention of local media affiliates and now even the attention of several of the film’s biggest stars.
Over 2,000 retweets & still going strong! Amazing!!#ForceForDaniel
Original Tweet: https://t.co/WhIQ7XMQh1 pic.twitter.com/Ov1KZN6CqN— Nerd Fu (@TheNerdFu) November 3, 2015
Actor Mark Hamill, who we all know as Luke Skywalker, as well as Star Wars newcomer John Boyega have begun retweeting posts on Twitter with the hashtag, “ForceForDaniel.”
Warwick Davis, the Ewok Wicket in the original trilogy’s Return of the Jedi, has also begun sharing tweets for Fleetwood’s campaign.
The campaign has generated a GoFundMe page for Fleetwood and an online petition has been sent urging Walt Disney and Lucasfilm to help Fleetwood fulfill his final wish.
For one fan, it would certainly make the world to him. This is certainly “a new hope” worth cheering for.
“I just love Star Wars,” said Fleetwood. “With everything I got, I love Star Wars.”
This is Ashley writing for Daniel. He just wanted me to tell EVERYONE how grateful he is! How touched he is, how he “…
Posted by Daniel Fleetwood on Saturday, October 31, 2015