Utah boy with terminal cancer getting his wish: an early screening of last Star Wars film


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EAGLE MOUNTAIN – A Utah boy is facing unimaginable obstacles. But through the power of love and the kindness, he’s getting an opportunity that’s “out of this world.”

Wyatt Page has a thing for droids, lightsabers and all things Star Wars.

“A super nerd I guess,” said Wyatt Page, who is 12, and lives in Eagle Mountain. “I like all the characters. I think they’re cool.”

A tough diagnosis came a couple years ago, “in March of 2018 after six weeks of headaches,” said his father, Doug Page. It was brain cancer, that’s now inoperable. “Our hope was to make it to the Star Wars movie,” he said. “We were wondering if we were going to be able to make it or not.” Seeing the final film became a mission. “As the end of the saga winds down, and perhaps as his life winds down, the two are coinciding a little bit,” Doug said. “He wants to see the end to the story.”

A friend in Idaho posted Wyatt’s wish on Facebook, and it went viral.

Jeff Clement, a family friend who lives in Idaho Falls, said, “It almost sounded like a black market deal because I had people going, ‘I know a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a guy.'" Eventually, the request made its way to Lucas Films and Disney, who told them: “We’re going to do the best we can, to get you a screening early, they are running a little behind on editing,” said Emily Page, Wyatt’s mother. “But we’ll do the best we can.” Then, the good news.

“Just speechless, I didn’t know what to say, really. I was just surprised,” Wyatt said.

Wyatt and his family will get to watch the movie early, before it’s released, in their home theater this Friday. It’s a special screening, immediate family only, so no spoilers. “My parents are joking that we’re going to have to sign all these documents for non-disclosure,” Wyatt said. Though they’re excited, no doubt it will be emotional. “Both for the series and the saga coming to an end, and knowing that our time is getting closer to our journey coming to an end,” Doug said. Wyatt finds courage through the characters he loves.

“We’ll miss him when he goes,” said Emily. “We’re just grateful for the experiences we have, the chance that we were able to create family memories together.” Embracing every moment with renewed hope.

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Heather Simonsen, KSL-TVHeather Simonsen
Heather Simonsen is a five-time Emmy Award-winning enterprise reporter for KSL-TV. Her expertise is in health and medicine, drug addiction, science and research, family, human interest and social issues. She is the host and producer of KSL-TV’s Positively 50+ initiative.
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