Star Wars superfan Daniel Fleetwood has died, days after watching an early screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  Fleetwood was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called spindle cell sarcoma at the age of 32, and was told he had two months to live in July.  His wife Ashley began a social media campaign after it became clear that Fleetwood would not live to see Episode VII of the franchise when it is released this Christmas.  The hashtag #ForceForDaniel began trending on Twitter and quickly gained the support of the film’s stars. Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill and John Boyega, who plays ex-Stormtrooper Finn in the new film, both expressed their support on the social media platform.  Fleetwood recieved a phonecall from the film's director, JJ Abrams. On Thursday, Lucasfilm came to Fleetwood's house and gave the fan his own private viewing of an unedited version of the film. Fleetwood's wife announced his death in a Facebook post in the early hours of Tuesday morning.  #ForceForDaniel glad you got to see the movie more importantly that you slept in peace. God bless you man x x you inspire me xx  Boyega, who is rumoured to be the hero of The Force Awakens, expressed his relief that Fleetwood was able to see the film before he died.  Fleetwood, from Houston, Texas, had been a Star Wars fan since the age of eight. When he was 21, a local newspaper ran a story about how he camped outside a cinema for days in order to be the first person to get a ticket to Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. He had been the first person to secure tickets for the two previous movies.  Daniel Fleetwood, #ForceForDaniel passed away. RIP Daniel. Happy Disney made your last few days a happy one.  R.I.P Daniel, you were the strongest of all Jedi & I'm glad you got to see TFA before you passed. May the Force be with you #ForceForDaniel  Before his death, Fleetwood said: “I just love Star Wars. With everything I got I love Star Wars.”  In a Facebook post, Ashley announced that her husband’s wish had been granted: "To all our wonderful supporters, friends, family and awesome strangers: Daniels final dream was just granted!!! Today the wonderful Disney and Lucasfilms made his final dream come true, in the amazing typical Disney way, they really do make dreams come true!"  One of Fleetwood's friends, writing on Reddit, reported that he was "blown away" by The Force Awakens: "To be honest he’s on a lot of drugs, but he kept telling us that its great, and he loved how it felt true to the original trilogy.They said JJ has called the house several times just checking on him, as well as a few other awesome folks like Peter Mayhew [Chewbacca].”  A crowdfunding page to help cover the cost of Fleetwood's medical treatment has raised $47,541 – the bulk of the donations have been made since his death earlier today.  A second terminally ill fan, Jordan Lyons, has also taken to to Reddit with an appeal to see the latest instalment in the Star Wars franchise.
John Boyega and Peter Meyhew lead tributes to the fan who feared he wouldn't live long enough to see JJ Abrams's Star Wars sequel