The entire planet has gone Star Wars crazy this year with the Force Awakens mere months away. Many of us have already bought our tickets, and we’re waiting for the days to tick by so we can finally see the new film. December 18 seems so far away. For one Star Wars fan however, there’s a very real chance that he may not make it to December 18th, and he’s hoping Disney can help him by letting him see the new film before he passes away from cancer.
Daniel Fleetwood is a life long Star Wars fan. He’s also suffering from a rare form of cancer called spindle cell sarcoma. The man was given two months to live in July, meaning that from a medical perspective he’s already survived longer than expected. Fleetwood thinks it’s his drive to see the new movie that has kept him going. With his cancer in such an advanced stage however, it’s possible that his natural energy may not be enough, this has lead him, according to KPRC Houston to make a request of Disney that he be able to see the new film early, in case he passes away before December 18th.
It’s a tragic case of life imitating art. The 2009 movie Fanboys dealt with a similar idea. A bunch of friends take a roadtrip to California to try and get access to The Phantom Menace because one is dying and won’t live to see the opening.
There is, terribly, one problem that may stand in the way of this, even if Disney was willing to entertain the idea. Based on comments recently made by director J.J. Abrams, the movie isn’t actually finished yet. Last week, Abrams said that there were still three to four weeks of visual effects work to be done, and while he said the final cut of the film would be finished prior to that, it was clear that it wasn’t done yet.
Still, there is some hope. The story has been noticed by Mark Hamill who is supporting Fleetwood’s dream. Hopefully from there, the request will at least make it to the right people. Check out the local news story below.
We wish Daniel Fleetwood the best of luck on his quest. He's willing to jump through whatever hoops Disney requires, so we hope they'll figure out a way to make this work.
