A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... wait a minute!
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00:00 From hummed marches sounding somewhat familiar, to certain characters even going out of their
00:05 way to glare straight down the lens at you, here are those times Star Wars very much acknowledged
00:09 itself and those watching at home.
00:11 I'm Gareth from WhatCulture Star Wars and here are 10 Times Star Wars Broke the 4th
00:16 Wall.
00:17 10.
00:18 Rey takes the lightsabers back to Tatooine, the Rise of Skywalker
00:22 While Tatooine would undoubtedly go on to become one of the most pivotal and iconic
00:26 spots in the Star Wars universe over the course of the Skywalker saga, that still didn't
00:30 stop a few folks from scratching their heads by the time it played host to the final scene
00:34 of the Rise of Skywalker in 2019.
00:37 Sure, the sight of Rey deciding to bury both Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa's lightsabers
00:41 near the former's homeland was a sweet enough touch, but fans were still left wondering
00:45 why in the hell Palpatine's granddaughter decided to choose this spot as the burial
00:49 ground in the first place.
00:51 Luke had spent much of his time on the planet wishing he was elsewhere, and Leia only ever
00:55 visited Tatooine on the big screen when rescuing Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt.
00:59 So whatever way you put it, this beat felt like more of a knowing and emotional salute
01:02 to those in cinemas, who had been strapped in for much of the ride up to this point than
01:06 anything else.
01:07 9.
01:08 Jar Jar Binks' Fate - Aftermath, Empire's End
01:12 This calamitous Gungan known as Jar Jar Binks would go on to become the butt of many a Star
01:16 Wars joke following on from his 1999 debut.
01:20 On top of having his significance and role in general largely reduced in the wake of
01:23 the Phantom Menace, The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams would even reference at one point
01:28 possibly having Binks' skeleton appear in the desert on Jakku.
01:32 That ultimately wouldn't come to pass, of course, but one rather poignant piece of fourth
01:36 wall breaking pertaining to the character did actually pop up in Chuck Wendig's novel
01:40 Aftermath, Empire's End.
01:42 In this canon book which takes place in the wake of Return of the Jedi, Binks is described
01:46 as being a street performer who, after being ostracized and shunned by Gungans and the
01:50 Phantom, became beloved by refugee children as he goofed around for their enjoyment.
01:55 Wendig would later add that this was very much a subtle commentary on Star Wars fans'
01:58 feelings and reactions to the character over the years.
02:01 8.
02:02 Hey Look, It's Boba Fett - A New Hope
02:05 Long before he was being a touch overexposed on the small screen, Star Wars fans were simply
02:09 champing at the bit to get their next hit of bounty hunter goodness.
02:13 But instead of thinking of a compelling spin-off story to throw this unquestionably cool Beskar
02:17 armour-wearing badass into the thick of, George Lucas had another ingenious idea on how to
02:22 capitalise on Fett's unexpected popularity back in the late 90s.
02:26 During the re-jigged scene involving a now CGI Jabba the Hutt conversing with Han Solo,
02:31 Lucas' 1997 special edition of A New Hope brought with it the pointless return of the
02:35 bounty hunter first seen in The Empire Strikes Back.
02:38 Really hammering home just how shoehorned Boba was when it came to his superimposed,
02:42 unexpected and entirely silent cameo.
02:45 The Django Fett clone would then sign off his appearance with a not-so-subtle glare
02:48 down the camera, as if to say "You wanted Boba, I give you Boba".
02:53 7.
02:54 Stormtrooper's Bad Aim Is Put Under The Microscope - The Mandalorian
02:58 One of the longest running and underlying jokes in the entire Star Wars universe comes
03:02 in the form of the Empire's choice of faceless trooper being quite possibly the worst shot
03:07 in the galaxy when equipped with a blaster.
03:10 After initially being built up as formidable foes, known for their ruthlessness and precision
03:14 by Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope, the evidently poor accuracy of the chiefly decked out stormtroopers
03:19 could only be ignored for so long.
03:21 Sure enough, when the time came to boot up Disney+'s first season of The Mandalorian,
03:25 Jon Favreau gave a knowing stormtrooper nod to fans of the franchise in the show's sixth
03:30 episode "The Prisoner".
03:31 During an exchange between Bill Burr's Mayfield and Pedro Pascal's Mando, the former notes
03:36 how he was formerly an Imperial sharpshooter.
03:39 Without missing a beat, Din Djarin quips "That's not saying much", pretty much making the
03:42 aforementioned much-ridiculed accuracy of the troops canon in one cheeky line.
03:47 6.
03:48 Wooden beams being exposed pisses off some fans – The Book of Boba Fett
03:52 Though this one is more of an unfortunate mistake than a purely intentional piece of
03:56 fourth-wall smashing, it did still take a number of folks out of Disney+'s recent
04:00 Mandalorian spin-off, so it definitely earns a spot on this list.
04:03 Adding to the gaff that went down during the second season of the aforementioned Mandalorian
04:07 that saw a "Jeans Guy" rock up in the background of a shot, episode three of The
04:11 Book of Boba Fett also couldn't escape the realities of shooting when it came time to
04:15 introduce the finished product to audiences.
04:18 Coming during a sequence which saw one of the biker gang members scooting around Moss
04:22 Esper, one rather passionate Star Wars fanatic on TikTok was quick to notice that a few wooden
04:27 beams used to help build the make-believe set were very much exposed as the camera panned
04:31 from up high.
04:32 While the infamous Mandalorian jeans guy has since been erased from history altogether,
04:36 it'll be interesting to see how or even if Lucasfilm/Disney decide to paper over this
04:41 particular production blunder going forward.
04:44 5.
04:45 A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far, Far Away
04:48 Silently feeding a line that would become almost instantly iconic, those legendary words
04:53 of "A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far, Far Away" soon give way to one of the most rousing
04:57 scores ever forged, and an opening crawl which subsequently sets the stage for the epic events
05:02 to come.
05:03 While all these slowly drifting words and grand orchestra undoubtedly set the tone for
05:08 the operatic adventures that lie ahead, their very existence completely pulverises any notion
05:13 of there being a fourth war from minute one.
05:15 Far from jarringly taking audiences out of the action, however, these now-legendary floating
05:19 paragraphs of bright yellow exposition have become a beloved part of the Star Wars cinematic
05:24 experience, and leave a rather disappointing gaping hole when left out in their traditional
05:28 form entirely, as seen - or not, in this case - in Rogue One and Solo's opening titles.
05:34 4.
05:35 The Opening Crawl Of Return Of The Jedi Is Referenced - The Mandalorian
05:39 And speaking of those famous stage-setting sentences that kickstart many a Star Wars
05:43 adventure, Disney+'s small-screen smash that is The Mandalorian came equipped with
05:47 a rather cheeky nod to that long-running device in its second season.
05:51 However, the words seen hovering around an exploding second Death Star during season
05:55 2 episode 1's flashback sequence also oddly act as yet another Mandalorian fourth wallbreaker.
06:01 When translated from Oribes to English, the text being projected around the erupting weapon
06:05 in a Mos Pelgo bar reads "Little does Luke know that the Galactic Empire has secretly
06:10 begun construction on a new armored space station, even more powerful than the first
06:14 dreaded Death Star."
06:16 On top of being a little odd due to the fact that the second Death Star in question had
06:20 actually just been blown up, the very existence of this nod to one of the lines in Return
06:24 Of The Jedi's opening crawl works as a cheeky wink to those watching.
06:28 3.
06:30 Let The Past Die - The Last Jedi Of all the moments that split Star Wars fanatics
06:34 right down the middle coming out of Rian Johnson's eighth episode of the Skywalker saga, Kylo
06:39 Ren telling Rey to "let the past die" felt like arguably the most pointed and eye-catching
06:43 of the lot.
06:46 For many, this line summed up Johnson's approach to his feature as a whole, preferring
06:53 to take the franchise in a bold new direction and leave the type of tired and already told
06:57 tale many had come to expect from this Skywalker-centric epic in the past.
07:01 And the delivery of Ren's speech later in the film, revealing to Rey that not only should
07:05 the Sith, Jedi and Rebels all die, but that the conflicted Jedi herself was a nobody,
07:10 also left many feeling as though Johnson had made a point out of poking a hole in the fourth
07:14 wall and laughing off all of the many theories fans had heading into the flick when it came
07:18 to Rey's part in the story too.
07:20 Despite some feeling bizarrely attacked by this meta-theme of letting the past die throughout
07:24 the divisive flick, it's clear Johnson was simply looking to build on what fans knew
07:28 and loved about those prior features and move the series on, as evidenced in Rey's arc
07:33 in The Last Jedi.
07:35 2.
07:36 As Shara Zavros Hums the Imperial March - The Old Republic
07:40 Jumping into the video game corner of this galaxy far, far away for this next entry,
07:44 and to a largely overlooked beat that actually alluded to the existence of John Williams'
07:48 unmistakable score within the world occupied by Jedi and Sith.
07:52 Coming during a sequence seen in the Old Republic video game, players witness as Shara Zavros
07:56 hum a rather familiar tune as she gathers herself post, well, you know.
08:05 But in showcasing Zavros' singing of the Imperial March, the question of how in the
08:09 holy hell Zavros stumbled upon this tune in the first place quickly invaded many a Star
08:13 Wars fan's minds.
08:14 In all honesty, this was likely nothing more than a cute tip of the cap to one of the most
08:18 recognisable pieces of music the galaxy has to offer.
08:22 1.
08:23 George Lucas Takes Darth to One Side - Lego Star Wars The
08:26 Padawan Menace Lego's many various spins on everything
08:29 from Marvel to Star Wars could always be counted on to take a few hilarious shots at that sacred
08:34 fourth wall over the course of whatever video game or feature offering they have lined up
08:39 next.
08:40 And keeping with that penchant for taking a lightsaber to the imaginary divide between
08:43 audience and action, a moment that sees Darth Sidious converse and chuckle with Asajj Ventress
08:48 via hologram in Lego Star Wars The Padawan Menace is soon interrupted by an unexpected
08:52 cameo from a giggling Darth Vader.
08:55 A familiar voice shouting "Cut!" followed by a record scratch for good measure then
08:59 paves the way for none other than Lego George Lucas to storm onto set to drag his disruptive
09:04 and confused Sith out of the exchange.
09:11 Along with hilariously shining a light on this entire sequence being nothing more than
09:15 a scene being shot for our entertainment, Lucas' acknowledging of the invading Sith
09:19 as simply Darth was also a not-so-subtle nod towards the galaxy's creator now bizarrely
09:24 referring to him as such in A New Hope, when Ben Kenobi comes into contact with his old
09:28 friend.
09:29 He may be a master of evil, but even Darths need a donut and a cuddle every now and again,
09:33 you know.
09:34 And that's our list!
09:35 Know of any other times Star Wars broke the fourth wall?
09:38 Let us know all about them in the comments section right down below and do not forget
09:41 to like, share and click on that subscribe button while you're at it.
09:44 I've been Gareth from What Culture's Star Wars, may the force be with you, thank you
09:48 very much for watching this video today and I'm sure I'll see you very, very soon.
09:51 Bye!
09:52 Bye.