Dying Man Saw New ‘Star Wars' Movie Before Scheduled Release

"He said he was just so very, very happy and couldn't believe it," the hospice CEO said of the terminally ill man's reaction

A terminally ill "Star Wars" fan watched "The Rise of Skywalker" on Friday — nearly three weeks ahead of its scheduled release — from his hospice bed in southern England, the man's caretakers said.

The middle-aged man was joined by his wife, two young sons and two brothers in the patient's room to see the latest "Star Wars" movie, according to Rowans Hospice Chief Executive Ruth White. 

"They were overwhelmed, the amount of joy he said he experienced. He said he was just so very, very happy and couldn't believe it," White told NBC News. "It was unbelievable that this has been mobilized so very, very quickly."

The hospice tweeted the dying man's request on Tuesday and the viral campaign got a Twitter boost from actor Mark Hamill, aka Luke Skywalker. It took just 48 hours for Disney, the company that controls the "Star Wars" franchise, to grant it.

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