His wife, Ashley confirmed his passing with a Facebook post, "He is now with God and with the force." She added, "Daniel put up an amazing fight to the very end. He passed in his sleep and in peace. He will always be my idol and my hero...Rest in peace my love."
Daniel, who suffered from spindle cell sarcoma, began campaigning to see the seventh installment of the Star Wars series after his doctors told him in July that he only had two months to live. With The Force Awakens opening on December 18, the longtime Star Wars fan had been worries he wouldn't live long enough to see the J.J. Abrams-directed movie before he was defeated by his terminal illness. He and and his wife campaigned on social media using the hashtag #ForceForDaniel and the campaign turned out to be a success. The legendary Mark Hamill, who reprises his role as the iconic Luke Skywalker in the new film and Peter Mayhew, who plays Chewbacca, voiced their support for Daniel to see the film early. Last week, director J.J. Abrams decided to allow Daniel to watch an unfinished version. Ashley confirmed the screening with her post last Thursday saying, "To all of our wonderful supporters, friends, family and awesome strangers: Daniel's final dream was just granted!"
Early this morning Daniel passed away. This is such an amazing story. J.J. Abrams just went up a notch in my book. My brother-in-law just reminded me that this story reminded him of the premise for the movie Fan Boys. For those who didn't see that film, it was about four Star Wars fans who set out to steal Phantom Menace (You know, the bad one with Jar Jar Binx). They find out that their friend is terminally ill and when they get caught breaking into George Lucas' compound, George Lucas allows the terminally ill friend to watch Phantom Menace before he died. That movie could have been Daniel's biography. Again, what an amazing story! May the Force be with you, Daniel Fleetwood!
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