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A Terminally Ill 'Star Wars' Fan Has Been Granted His Dying Wish of Seeing 'The Force Awakens' Early

By John Boone
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J.J. Abrams just made a Star Wars fan’s final wish come true.

Daniel Fleetwood, 32, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and, in July, given two months to live. Fleetwood has been a huge Star Wars fan since he was 8 or 9 years old and, now that he is on hospice, said he was worried he wouldn’t “make it” until the official release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.


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Now, his wish has been granted. “Today the wonderful Disney and Lucasfilms made his final dream come true,” his wife, Ashley, posted on Facebook. “In the amazing typical Disney way, they really do make dreams come true!”

“Daniel just finished watching an unedited version of Star Wars: The Force Awakens!!!” she said. “We would like to thank the awesomely talented JJ Abrams for calling us yesterday to tell us Daniel was getting his wish granted!”

The screening of the film, which won’t be released until Dec. 18, took place at Fleetwood’s home. “I want to thank ALL the amazing people who helped make this happen, thank you beyond words!!! May the force be with you all,” Ashley said.

As for whether Fleetwood liked what he saw? Naturally, he has to keep that a secret for now. “He can't talk about the movie at all!" Ashley told ET. "But it was an amazing experience!”


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Mark Hamill, aka Luke Skywalker himself, tweeted about the good news, saying he was “elated” for Fleetwood.

Meanwhile, other members of the cast, including Peter Mayhew (who plays Chewbacca) and newcomers John Boyega and Daisy Ridley, had supported the campaign using the hashtag #ForceForDaniel.

This isn’t the first time that Abrams has let a terminally ill fan see one of his highly-anticipated projects before the official release date. Back in 2013, the director facilitated a months-in-advance preview of Star Trek Into Darkness for film buff Daniel Craft, who was also fighting with cancer.

Now, check out six questions we have after watching the new Star Wars trailer:

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