Neil Hanvey

Neil Hanvey (1979/1980–August 22, 2016) was a Star Wars who became known for being the first person to ever see the Star Wars Anthology film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story before the film's release on December 16, 2016. Having been Hanvey diagnosed with cancer in 2013, his whole family including his wife Andrea started a worldwide campaign known as #RogueOneWish to enable Neil to see Rogue One before his passing. The campaign generated a lot of online support, including from actor Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in both the original and sequel trilogies.

Both The Walt Disney Company and Lucasfilm Ltd. noted the response and on August 20, Rogue One director Gareth Edwards screened for Neil the film at St. Michaels Hospice, England (the hospital where he was admitted), thus making Neil the first person to ever see the film in the world. Two days later, Neil passed away on St. Michaels at age 36. His wife and family received many sympathic messages after his death, thanking all ones who supported the campaign. Neil's family have set up a crowdfunding campaignto raise funds for St. Michaels since that.