Campaign launched for terminally ill Star Wars fan to see Rogue One early

Neil Hanvey was told he had six to eight months to live back in April
Campaign: Andrea Hanvey and Amy Duncan with a photo of Neil Hanvey
St Michael's Hospice
Jennifer Ruby18 August 2016
The Weekender

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A new campaign has been launched to help grant a terminally ill Star Wars fan his wish to see Rogue One early.

Neil Hanvey, 36, was told he had just six to eight months to live back in April, meaning that he might not have the chance to see the new film when it’s released in cinemas in December.

His wife Andrea and staff from the St Michael’s Hospice in Hereford have now created social media campaign ‘#RogueOneWish’ to try and get Lucas Films to give Hanvey an advanced screening of the film.

The hospice staff have even recorded a video of themselves singing lyrics to the Star Wars theme tune to show their support and to help urge the studio to notice the campaign.

The video has already been viewed over 35,000 times and Mark Hamill has ‘liked’ the campaign on Twitter.

“Neil Hanvey has been a fan of Star Wars all his life. The first present he can remember receiving from his parents was a gigantic model of the Millennium Falcon,” read a post on the hospice’s Facebook page.

“In April, when Neil was told he only had 6 to 8 months to live, one of his first thoughts was that he wouldn't get to see the new Star Wars film Rogue One.

“Amy Duncan is one of the Health Care Assistants caring for Neil and when she heard about his love of Star Wars she wrote a Facebook post asking for help from anyone who could make Neil's wish come true.

“Amy's post has now been shared over 1,300 times, and she has even had a message from Industrial Light and Magic, one of the special effect companies working on the new film.

“To help, please share this post and use the hashtag ‪#‎rogueonewish‬.”

This isn't the first time that a terminally ill fan has campaigned to see a Star Wars film early.

Daniel Fleetwood was granted an early screening of The Force Awakens after a social media campaign caught the attention of J.J Abrams.

The Star Wars spin-off film, directed by Gareth Edwards, co-stars Felicity Jones, Ben Mendelsohn and Forest Whitaker.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story trailer breakdown

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