The Terminally Ill Fan Behind #RogueOneWish Passes Away After Seeing ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ Early

Last week we brought you the story of Neil Hanvey, the well-known illustrator and Star Wars fanatic hoping to see the much-anticipated Rogue One: A Star Wars Story early. Hanvey was diagnosed with cancer three and a half years ago and given a mere six to eight months to live in April, so his wife Andrea and his caregivers at St. Michaels Hospice in Hereford, England arranged the #RogueOneWish campaign to give Neil one final Star Wars-related thrill. We’ve seen similar campaigns for Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Wars: The Force Awakens succeed in the past, so many hoped Hanvey would also get his wish.

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Well, thanks to massive worldwide fan support and endorsements from Star Wars icons like Mark Hamill, Neil Hanvey did indeed get to see Rogue One early this past Saturday. St. Michaels Hospice sent out a thank you to the makers of Rogue One and everybody who supported the #RogueOneWish campaign:

“On behalf of Neil Hanvey, his wife Andrea and all his family, we want to thank everyone who supported the #RogueOneWish campaign. The director of Rogue One, Gareth Edwards did all he could to make Saturday a very special day for Neil. Neil, his family and everyone at St Michael’s Hospice would like to say thank you to Disney, Lucasfilm and especially Gareth Edwards.”

Sadly, Hanvey succumbed to his illness this Monday at the age of 36. Andrea Hanvey issued a statement following her husband’s death:

“We would like to thank everyone who has passed on their condolences following Neil’s death last night. All the messages of love during the past week have given us a great deal of comfort during a very difficult time. We would also like to thank everyone at St Michael’s Hospice, especially Amy Duncan, without who #RogueOneWish would not have happened. All donations at Neil’s funeral will go to the Hospice’s Family Support team and will be used to fund work with children and young people”

The Hanvey family have started a campaign to raise funds for St. Michaels Hospice. If you’d like to contribute, you can do that right here.

(Via the Hollywood Reporter)