The Star Wars Superfan Who Saw The Force Awakens Early Has Died
Daniel Fleetwood, the terminally ill Star Wars fan who was given a special preview screening of ‘The Force Awakens’ by J.J. Abrams, has died.
He was 32.
His wife Ashley confirmed the news, following an agonising post on Facebook detailing his last hours.
“Daniel put up an amazing fight to the very end,” she wrote.
“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.
“Rest in peace my love.”
The post was accompanied by the last picture of the couple together.
Daniel, a lifelong superfan of the 'Star Wars’ movies, hit the news earlier this month, when his local TV station broadcast his plea to Disney and Lucasfilm to let him see it early.
He told KPRC-TV: “Judging by how progressive the disease has gotten in the past two months I really don’t think that I’ll be able to make it.”
“I just love Star Wars,” he added. “With everything I got I love Star Wars.”
Suffering a rare form of cancer of the connective tissue, he feared that he would not live long enough to see 'The Force Awakens’ at the cinema.
The hashtag #forcefordaniel soon started trending worldwide.
‘Star Wars’ stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega were among those backing the campaign on social media.
And then coming to his aid, director J.J. Abrams dispatched a crew to take an unfinished cut of the movie to his home in Texas last week.
He was also visited by the 501st Legion, the international fan-based organisation dedicated to constructing screen-accurate replicas of 'Star Wars’ outfits.
Ashley had set up a fund to help towards Daniel’s medical bills.
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Image credits: Facebook/Imgur
