A fan dressed as a Star Wars Storm Trooper in London. (Reuters)

Los Angeles, May 18 (Reuters): Where will they go now that the story is about to end in a galaxy far, far away?

With the final instalment of the Star Wars films due out this week, fans will have their last chance to see light sabre duels, space battles and, perhaps more significantly, spend days and weeks in line with other kindred souls.

“There is a definite sense of loss,” said Chris Bergoch, a fan who has been waiting in line for weeks at New York movie theatre. “All my life, there has always been another Star Wars film somewhere on the horizon to daydream, wonder and speculate about.”

“Thursday, May 19, will be the first day of ‘the other side of life’,” Bergoch said, “It’s a strange feeling to think that ... it will all be over.”

The same collective nostalgia unites would-be Jedi from Singapore to Sweden who rely on the Internet to swap tips on constructing realistic light sabres at home (start with a 40-inch piece of polycarbonate tubing) and to joke about their shared obsession. One popular topic: How to know when you have given in to the dark side of fandom? When “you bring your blaster” or “storm trooper armour to work,” said JediJean, a Singapore-based secretary, in one online post.

The original Star Wars movie in 1977 was an unexpected hit. It’s young director George Lucas, was more versed in making art films and had only made one science fiction flick that barely registered at the box office.

But with the two sequels released in the 1980s, and two more episodes in the last five years describing the events leading up to the original 1977 movie, the lines became increasingly longer.

Bryan Lee, a graphic design college student in California, has spent nearly 1,000 hours in line at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard and is at the head of the line. “I wanted to experience what this was like with other people,” said Lee, 19, who admits that he’s no longer in line to be first, but to spend time with others willing to give up their everyday lives to celebrate the showing of the last Star Wars movie.