A British terminally ill man watched Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, three weeks before its theatrical release. It was his dying wish which was fulfilled after he saw the film in an ipad on his hospice bed in Southern England.
The middle aged man had wished to see the latest Star Wars film and the Rowans Hospice had tweeted about it, asking for help.
Sharing the news, Disney CEO Robert Iger wrote on twitter: “On this Thanksgiving, we at Disney are grateful to be able to share The Rise of Skywalker with a patient and his family at Rowans Hospice,” he wrote. “May the Force be with you and with us all!”
On this Thanksgiving, we at @Disney are grateful to be able to share #TheRiseOfSkywalker with a patient and his family @RowansHospice. May the force be with you and with us all!
— Robert Iger (@RobertIger) November 28, 2019
The patient saw the film with his wife, two sons and two brothers in the patient room on a large iPad.
“They were overwhelmed by the amount of joy he experienced. He said he was just so very, very happy and couldn’t believe it,” Rowans Hospice Chief Executive Ruth White told NBC News. “It was unbelievable that this has been mobilized so very, very quickly.”
The request tweet by Rowans got a supporting hand by actor Mark Hamill, who has played Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars films. It took no time, after that, for Disney to grant the dying man’s wish.
Contact @Disney. They are the only ones who can make this happen. Good luck!
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) November 26, 2019
A Disney representative arrived at Rowans Hospice in Waterlooville with a hard drive and a laptop. Everyone in the room had to sign a non-disclosure agreement before watching the film.
Directed by J.J Abrams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalkers will be released theatrically in the United States on 20 December.