Daniel Fleetwood, Terminally Ill ‘Star Wars’ Fan Behind #ForceForDaniel, Dies at Age 32
Back in October, Ashley Fleetwood, the wife of Daniel Fleetwood, a terminally ill Star Wars fan, started the #ForceForDaniel campaign to help her husband see Star Wars: The Force Awakens before he died. Daniel, a lifelong fan who camped out for tickets to see the prequel trilogy, was given only two months to live in July and both he and his wife knew as his conditioned worsened he wasn’t going to be able to make it until opening day. On November 5, Disney, Lucasfilm and director J.J. Abrams made Daniel’s dying wish come true by bringing Star Wars: The Force Awakens to his home in Spring, Texas.
Daniel Fleetwood died last night, just five days after his Star Wars screening, at the age of 32.
Fleetwood had been suffering from spindle cell sarcoma, a rare connective tissue cancer. Ashley posted this to her Facebook page earlier this morning.
Daniel put up an amazing fight to the very end. He is now one with God and with the force. He passed in his sleep and in peace. He will always be my idol and my hero. Please hug uncle Marc for me and give Lucy lots of kisses. Rest in peace my love. This was the last selfie we ever took together. #forcefordaniel
Fleetwood’s #ForceForDaniel campaign gained steam after The Force Awakens stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega shared it on social media. Abrams, who coordinated a similar screening of Star Trek Into Darkness for a dying fan, sent a group of Lucasfilm and Bad Robot employees to Daniel’s home and continued to call him on the phone to check on his status in the following days. Boyega tweeted this morning:
Fleetwood had told family and friends that he was “blown away” by the movie and loved how true it felt to the original trilogy.
Ashley posted this grim update on Daniel’s condition last night: “Hearing your loved one writhing in pain, asking for God to just kill him and take him to heaven, trying four heavy duty sedation shots and he is still moaning and writhing in anxiety and pain....my mental anguish can’t compare to the pain and anxiety Daniel must be in right now.”
Just four hours later, he was gone.
If you’re still looking for a way to help, you can donate to the family’s GoFundMe account to help with their mounting medical bills.