When Ashley Fleetwood first met her husband – the funny, affable guy who sat studiously in the front row of the college class they had together – she’d never seen a single “Star Wars” movie.
Daniel Fleetwood, a massive fan since seeing the early films with his dad when he young, changed that quickly. He was the guy who had the franchise’s merchandise all over his room, who wore “Star Wars” T-shirts, and who camped out for all the movies to be the first ticket holder, doing light saber battles in the parking lot with friends while they waited.
Daniel, 32, is dying.
Daniel Fleetwood received his dying wish to know what happened next in the Stars War saga.
The mega-fan, who is terminally ill, received a phone call from director JJ Abrams sometime Wednesday who said he wanted to give Fleetwood a private screening of the uncut version. On Thursday, Fleetwood watched the four-hour unedited film, which isn’t being released until Dec. 18.
“Daniel really wanted to see that movie. That was the thing he was hanging on for,” his father, Dennis Fleetwood, told The Washington Post.
His son has spindle cell sarcoma, a rare form of connective soft tissue cancer. The older Fleetwood, 62, who is an anesthesiologist, said his son’s illness is progressing quickly.
Fleetwood introduced his son to the first three Stars Wars movies when he was very young, and his son watched them over and over. When the newer films were released, he camped out for tickets. He kept one ticket marked “001.” He was the first in line.
Daniel’s wife, Ashley, started the ForceforDaniel campaign for her husband of five years to see the movie before he died and it quickly spread across the Internet, even catching the attention of some actors of the film, including Mark Hamill who played Luke Skywalker. Hamill retweeted the good news Thursday, adding, “I just read this and am elated for Daniel & his family! Thanks to the powers-that-be for making his dream come true.”
Ashley Fleetwood posted the update on her Facebook page, which has quickly morphed into a ForceforDaniel tribute for all his old and new fans.
“To all our wonderful supporters, friends, family and awesome strangers: Daniels final dream was just granted!!! Today the wonderful Disney, Bad Robot and Lucasfilm teams made his final dream come true, 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! Lastly I want to thank ALL the amazing people who helped make this happen!!! May the force be with you all. forcefordaniel”
Her husband was diagnosed with spindle cell sarcoma in 2012. After surgery in March 2013 they breathed a sigh of relief, believing he was tumor-free. Two months later a scan found cancer in his lungs. On Sept. 2, they were told he had two months to live.
Ashley shared on Facebook Tuesday morning a certificate sent by a fan club making Daniel an “honorary Jedi Knight.” “This brings tears to my eyes and gave Daniel the biggest smile when he saw it. Thank you beyond words. forcefordaniel,” she wrote.
“He’s pretty speechless too,” Ashley said. “It amazes him.”
