Daniel Fleetwood

Daniel Fleetwood (1983–November 10, 2015) was a Star Wars fan who became known for being the first person to ever see Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens before the film's release on December 18, 2015. Fleetwood, having been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer time before the film's 2015 release, anticipated that he was most likely going to die before Episode VII hit theaters one month later, asked to see the film as his dying wish via his local TV station in early November.

Daniel's request for his last wish began to circulate on social media by the hashtag #ForceForDaniel and was even supported by The Force Awakens cast members John Boyega, Mark Hamill and Gwendoline Christie. Eventually, Episode VII director J.J. Abrams came to call Daniel and his wife Ashley personally and on November 5, an unfinished version of The Force Awakens was screened for Daniel; thus he became the first person in the world to see the film. Four or five days later, Daniel passed away at age 32, as Ashley confirmed in her Facebook account.

Text and facts from the “Daniel Fleetwood” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.