A Terminally Ill ‘Star Wars’ Fan Is Hoping To See ‘Rogue One’ Early With #RogueOneWish

If you’re a Star Wars fan, you’re probably familiar with Neil Hanvey’s artwork. A professional illustrator, Hanvey has done some elaborate tributes to Star Wars that pop up online now and again, including this mashup of King Tut and a stormtrooper. Tragically, Hanvey, who is battling cancer, was told in April that he had only six to eight months left to live. That’s not a message anybody wants to get from their doctor, and Hanvey and his family have the sad work of tying off the threads of a life as it comes to a close. But before he returns to the Force, Hanvey would like to see Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and fans are taking to Twitter to make it happen.

It’s thanks to Andrea, his wife, and Amy Duncan, his nurse, that the campaign came together in the first place. Hanvey is a huge Star Wars fan. The first gift he can remember is his parents giving him a model of the Millennium Falcon. Duncan got the idea to lift Hanvey’s spirits by campaigning for him to see Rogue One early and got the hospital to put their weight behind a social media campaign. In a post on his hospice’s Facebook page, they asked fans to use the hashtag #RogueOneWish. His friends quickly picked up the cause, with, among other things, Hanvey’s coworkers putting on Stormtrooper masks:

Will the campaign be successful? There have been supportive comments from Industrial Light and Magic, but it might be a question of time. Rogue One isn’t out until December, and Hollywood blockbusters tend to have work done on them right up to the last minute. But generally if there’s a way to make it happen, Lucasfilm pulls it off, so hopefully Neil gets his wish.

(Via Hereford Times)

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