Final 'Star Wars' could mean end of the superfan

Published: Sunday, June 12, 2005

NEW YORK - Now that any die-hard "Star Wars" fan worth his lightsaber has seen "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" at least once, what's a Jedi to do?

The end of the "Star Wars" movies leaves a gaping hole in the galaxy of geekdom. And it begs the larger question: Is the era of the superfan over?

No longer is there any variation of "Star Trek" on TV. The Grateful Dead essentially passed with Jerry Garcia, and even Phish is done now. The seminal pop-cult experience may be a thing of the past.

But not before this last "Star Wars" is wrung dry. Legions of stormtroopers, who now span at least two generations, have overrun theaters for the final installment, leading to the largest opening box office take ever: $50 million after one day, $158 million after four days.

It's possible "Revenge of the Sith" will eventually gross more than $400 million domestically - maybe even overtaking "Phantom Menace" and the original "Star Wars" (without being adjusted for inflation) for second place behind "Titanic."

"I definitely think there will be repeat business. The transformation sequence of Anakin into Darth Vader just begs for repeat viewing. It's such a cinematic event," says Paul Dergarabedian, the president of Exhibitor Relations, the box office tracking firm.

But in a matter of months, fans won't be able to see Anakin's makeover on the big screen again.

Where will they go? What will they do?

"I guess the rest of us will just get to know our families a little bit better," says James Coleman, 31, an enthusiast who camped outside the Ziegfeld Theater in New York to see the first showing.

Though "Star Wars" will continue with two planned offshoot TV series, for the first time since 1977, there will be no movie to look forward to. Likewise, after 18 years of some variation of "Star Trek" TV shows, the May 13 finale of "Star Trek: Enterprise" was perhaps the last televised Klingon crusade.

Capt. Kirk fans will now have to pass time working on their Trekkie portfolio.

Of course, fanatics have often shown little need for anything as relevant as the passing of time. After all, there are still multiple "Wizard of Oz" conventions held annually. The "Star Wars" expanded universe (novels, comic book, fan movies), will also keep the Jedi juices flowing for years to come.

These fans clearly express a different level of commitment.

"The people who do this suspend the normal rules of society," says Dr. Jerry M. Lewis, a sociology professor at Kent State University who has studied fan behavior. "Normally, you don't walk around dressed as Chewbacca or Darth Vader.

"Why do people do this? I have no idea, other than it gives them an identity," Lewis adds. "And I would guess, if we could generalize from die-hard soccer fans and die-hard Cubs fans, it gives them an identity that's greater than their personal identity."

If there's hope for a new legion of obsessives, it could come from Harry Potter. Just as "Star Wars" fans attend midnight premieres (apparently the designated hour of the superfan), Potter fans line blocks for each new book at the witching hour. Fan site counts down the next installment, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," to the second.