Mark Hamill and John Boyega retweeted the hashtag #ForceForDaniel to show their support for Daniel Fleetwood, a 32-year-old Star Wars fan with terminally ill cancer.
The hashtag is being used on Twitter to gain the attention of Walt Disney Studios. Supporters of “ForceForDaniel,” hope the studio will allow Fleetwood to watch the film before its Dec. 18 release.
Fleetwood has spindle cell sarcoma, a rare form of connective tissue cancer. Doctors informed him in July that he had just two months to live.
Fleetwood told Houston’s KPRC-TV that he has been a fan of Star Wars since he was eight or nine years old.
“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,” Fleetwood said.
A GoFundMe page has been set up by Fleetwood’s wife, Ashley, to raise money for medical bills. The page features photos of Fleetwood in Star Wars attire, including a Yoda hat and Darth Vader zip-up jacket.
Ashley tweeted a picture last week of her husband in more Star Wars attire:
#forcefordaniel help my man get his last wish, to see a screening of Star Wars before cancer takes him. @bad_robot pic.twitter.com/XCuYD0KlpY
— Ashley Fleetwood (@pandorashley) October 29, 2015
The viral campaign has been featured predominately on Twitter, with Hamill and Boyega retweeting the tweet below to their own profiles:
A dying man’s wish to see #StarWars The Force Awakens Help spread the word : #ForceForDaniel https://t.co/0tA3ET3DdH pic.twitter.com/zbWM7VhvGK
— Nerd Fu (@TheNerdFu) October 30, 2015
Peter Mayhew, who is the actor behind Chewbacca, retweeted a similar tweet.
Ashley said in a Facebook post that the actors’ support has been “amazing.”
Mark Hamill played Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy and is reprising his role in the series’ new installment The Force Awakens. Newcomer Boyega plays ex-Stormtrooper Finn in the upcoming film and has been widely featured in the movie’s new poster and trailer.
J.J. Abrams, director of The Force Awakens, granted New York-based film buff Daniel Craft a similar dying wish back in 2013.
Craft had a terminal cancer and, as a Star Trek fan, wanted to see Star Trek Into Darkness before it was released. Abrams granted him early access and Craft died just days after seeing the film.
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