‘Star Wars’ fan’s dying wish granted

A terminally ill Star Wars fan, who was given just a few months to live, has been granted his wish to see the The Force Awakens, the latest film in the franchise, nearly two months before it comes out in theatres.

Daniel Fleetwood, a 31-year-old Texan suffering from an aggressive form of cancer that has spread to 90% of his lungs, was able to watch an early cut of the highly anticipated film, due in cinemas on December 18, his wife Ashley Fleetwood said on Facebook.

“Daniel just finished watching an unfinished version of Star 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!” she said.

Daniel’s dying wish to see The Force Awakens went viral on social media in the past week with the hashtag #ForceForDaniel, which garnered the support of Star Wars actors Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), and newcomer John Boyega.

Hamill tweeted on Thursday that he was “elated” that Fleetwood had been able to see the film.

The Fleetwoods have been documenting Daniel’s health on social media, and in September he posted an update saying he had been given one or two months to live, due to how fast the cancer had spread.

Disney said that the screening for Fleetwood had taken place and that “all involved were happy to be able to make it happen.”

The company did not say where the screening took place, but given Fleetwood’s poor health, it is likely to have been at his home.

The plot of The Force Awakens, the seventh film installment in George Lucas’s widely popular Star Wars universe that will see the return of franchise veterans Hamill, Mayhew, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher, has been kept tightly under wraps. Fans have only been given three brief teaser trailers in the past year.