Disney and directorJ.J. Abramshave come through for terminally ill super-fanDaniel Fleetwood. They have let him screenStar Wars: The Force Awakensearly! This certainly came as exciting news toDaniel, who reached out to the studio on social media. He soon had a ground swell of support behind him that included some members of the movie including starMark Hamill.
As far as we know,Daniel Fleetwoodis the only one outside of theLucasfilmcamp to have screened the movie. And we’re guessing that his review is under embargo.Danielis a lifelong fan ofStar Wars, its movies, the merchandise and everything else that comes with it. He is battling a rare form of cancer called spindle cell sarcoma. Months ago, he was given only two months to live. And he has survived longer than anyone thought possible.
Because of this, though, friends and family believed thatDanielwouldn’t be able to hold out untilDecember 18. And even if he did, there was a strong possibility that he wouldn’t be able to make into the theater. Today,Daniel’s wife Ashely announced onFacebookthat Lucasfilm and directorJ.J. Abramsshowed him an unedited version of Star Wars: The Force Awakens at their Houston Home. This is what she had to say, thanking everyone involved in making this possible.
“To all our wonderful supporters, friends, family and awesome strangers: Daniels final dream was just granted!!! Today the wonderful Disney, Bad Robot and Lucasfilms teams made his final dream come true, in the amazing typical Disney way, they really do make dreams come true! Daniel just finished watching an unedited version ofStar 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! We also would like to thank Lynne, Ben and Anahuac for coming to our home and screening the movie for Daniel. Lastly I want to thank ALL the amazing people who helped make this happen, thank you beyond words!!! May the force be with you all.”
So, perhaps even cooler than getting to watch the movie,Danielgot to see a version of the movie no one else is going to get to see. The campaign to getDanielin front of the movie happened last week, when he and his wife made the plea to Disney on their Twitter. This led to the launch of the #ForceForDaniel hashtag, which quickly went viral. Helping the cause along withLuke Skywalkerhimself were new starsDaisy RidleyandJohn Boyega, who play Rey and Finn, who helped spread the word on social media. AboutDanielgetting to see the movie,Mark Hamillhad this to say.
" I just read this and am elated for Daniel & his family! Thanks to the powers-that-be for making his dream come true."
Even as mysterious and secretive as Lucasfilm and Disney have been about the movie, it’s heartening to see that they allowed the film to be screened for this super fan. And we’re sure he won’t spill any spoilers. Let’s just hope you all don’t start bombarding his personal pages with questions about plot details, characters and any other spoilers you may think of. You’ll all get your chance to see it when the movie opens in December. For now, let’s just be happy forDanielthat he got his dying wish.
