Mark Hamill Shares Support For Terminally Ill Fan Hoping To See Rogue One Early

Neil Hanvey, a terminally ill Star Wars fan, has been making headlines lately. The professional [...]

By Megan Peters

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(Photo: Lucasfilm)

Neil Hanvey, a terminally ill Star Wars fan, has been making headlines lately. The professional illustrator was diagnosed with cancer back in April when Hanvey's doctors said he only had 6-8 months left. Since then, Hanvey has worked alongside his wife and hospice assistants to launch a social media campaign that's asking Disney to let him see Rogue One: A Star Wars Story early. And, while Hanvey has received all sorts of support from fellow fans, he's now getting love from Luke Skywalker himself.

Taking to Twitter, Mark Hamill shared his support for Hanvey by retweeting a post about the fan's campaign. The actor hasn't publicly said anything about the campaign as of yet, but it must be reassuring for Hanvey to know that one of his favorite actors has his back.

If you'd like to show your support for Hanvey as well, you can do so by using the hashtag #RogueOneWish on social media in order to grab Disney and Lucasfilm's attention. After all, with Rogue One set to premiere in December, it doesn't seem likely that Hanvey will be able to see the film unless he's allowed early access. His wife Andrea is keen to have her husband see the film, and she's been directly involved with St. Michael's Hospice as the organization rallies around Hanvey's last wish. In fact, the staff recently uploaded a video of them singing some original lyrics to Star Wars' iconic theme song in hopes of going viral. The video has since been shared over 1,500 times, and Hanvey's hospice assistant Amy Duncan has said they've since heard from Industrial Light & Magic who does Lucafilm's special effects. But, still, they've received no confirmation that an early screening is happening.

Should Hanvey's wish get granted, it wouldn't be the first time an ill fan was able to preview a Star Wars film early. Last year, Daniel Fleetwood was able to watch Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens at his home after being diagnosed with terminal spindle cell sarcoma. Given 2 months to live, the long-time fan asked J.J. Abrams and Disney if he could see the film before he passed and fans all over the world rallied behind Fleetwood's request. His wife Ashley said the experience meant a lot Fleetwood and brought him joy ahead of his untimely passing.

"It was like bringing a kid to see his favorite movie at the movie theaters. It was beautiful, and it made me cry to see his reaction," she said. "I don't think I could ever express into words how grateful we are, and we just want everyone to know that we will never forget that."

And, amongst the world of superheroes, Deadpool's Ryan Reynolds helped a terminally ill fan named Connor McGrath see a rough-cut of the film before he lost his battle with cancer last year. Despite the tragic circumstance, Hanvey and his family are all hoping he'll be able to see Rogue One as soon as possible. Surely, if Mark Hamill has anything to say about it, Hanvey might just see his wish get granted.

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