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A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... wait a minute!
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00:00From hummed marches sounding somewhat familiar, to certain characters even going out of their way to glare straight down the lens at you.
00:07Here are those times Star Wars very much acknowledged itself and those watching at home.
00:12I'm Gareth from WhatCultureStarWars and here are 10 times Star Wars Broke the Fourth Wall.
00:17Number 10, Rey Takes the Lightsabers Back to Tatooine, The Rise of Skywalker
00:21While Tatooine would undoubtedly go on to become one of the most pivotal and iconic spots in the Star Wars universe over the course of the Skywalker saga,
00:30that still didn't stop a few folks from scratching their heads by the time it played host to the final scene of The Rise of Skywalker in 2019.
00:37Sure, the sight of Rey deciding to bury both Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa's lightsabers near the former's homeland was a sweet enough touch,
00:44but fans were still left wondering why in the hell Palpatine's granddaughter decided to choose this spot as the burial ground in the first place.
00:51Luke had spent much of his time on the planet wishing he was elsewhere,
00:54and Leia only ever visited Tatooine on the big screen when rescuing Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt.
00:59So whatever way you put it, this beat felt like more of a knowing and emotional salute to those in cinemas who had been strapped in for much of the ride up to this point than anything else.
01:08Number 9, Jar Jar Binks' Fate, Aftermath, Empire's End
01:11This calamitous Gungan known as Jar Jar Binks would go on to become the butt of many a Star Wars joke following on from his 1999 debut.
01:20On top of having his significance and role in general largely reduced in the wake of The Phantom Menace,
01:24The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams would even reference at one point possibly having Binks' skeleton appear in the desert on Jakku.
01:31That ultimately wouldn't come to pass, of course, but one rather poignant piece of fourth wall breaking pertaining to the character did actually pop up in Chuck Wendig's novel Aftermath, Empire's End.
01:42In this canon book, which takes place in the wake of Return of the Jedi,
01:45Binks is described as being a street performer who, after being ostracized and shunned by Gungans and the Naboo,
01:50became beloved by refugee children as he goofed around for their enjoyment.
01:54Wendig would later add that this was very much a subtle commentary on Star Wars fans' feelings and reactions to the character over the years.
02:01Number 8. Hey look, it's Boba Fett! A New Hope
02:04Long before he was being a touch overexposed on the small screen,
02:08Star Wars fans were simply champing at the bit to get their next hit of Bounty Hunter goodness.
02:13But instead of thinking of a compelling spin-off story to throw this unquestionably cool Beskar armor-wearing badass into the thick of,
02:20George Lucas had another ingenious idea on how to capitalize on Fett's unexpected popularity back in the late 90s.
02:26During the re-jig scene involving a now-CGI Jabba the Hutt conversing with Han Solo,
02:30Lucas' 1997 special edition of A New Hope brought with it the pointless return of the Bounty Hunter first seen in The Empire Strikes Back.
02:38Really hammering home just how shoehorned Boba was when it came to his superimposed, unexpected and entirely silent cameo,
02:45the Jango Fett clone would then sign off his appearance with a not-so-subtle glare down the camera as if to say,
02:50you want it Boba, I give you Boba.
02:53Number 7. Stormtrooper's bad aim is put under the microscope, the Mandalorian.
02:58One of the longest-running and underlying jokes in the entire Star Wars universe
03:02comes in the form of the Empire's choice of faceless trooper being quite possibly the worst shot in the galaxy when equipped with a blaster.
03:09After initially being built up as formidable foes, known for their ruthlessness and precision by Obi-Wan Kenobi and A New Hope,
03:16the evidently poor accuracy of the cheaply decked-out Stormtroopers could only be ignored for so long.
03:21Sure enough, when the time came to boot up Disney Plus' first season of The Mandalorian,
03:25Jon Favreau gave a knowing Stormtrooper nod to fans of the franchise in the show's sixth episode, The Prisoner.
03:31During an exchange between Bill Burr's Mayfield and Pedro Pascal's Mando,
03:35the former notes how he was formerly an Imperial sharpshooter.
03:38Without missing a beat, Din Djarin quips, that's not saying much,
03:41pretty much making the aforementioned much-ridiculed accuracy of the troops canon in one cheeky line.
03:47Number 6. Wooden beams being exposed pisses off some fans, the Book of Boba Fett.
03:52Now, this one is more of an unfortunate mistake than a purely intentional piece of fourth-wall smashing.
03:57It did still take a number of folks out of Disney Plus' recent Mandalorian spin-off,
04:01so it definitely earns a spot on this list.
04:03Adding to the gaffe that went down during the second season of the aforementioned Mandalorian
04:07that saw a jeans guy rock up in the background of a shot,
04:11Episode 3 of The Book of Boba Fett also couldn't escape the realities of shooting
04:14when it came time to introduce the finished product to audiences.
04:18Coming during a sequence which saw one of the biker gang members scooting around Mos Espa,
04:22one rather passionate Star Wars fanatic on TikTok was quick to notice that a few wooden beams
04:27used to help build the make-believe set were very much exposed as the camera panned from up high.
04:32While the infamous Mandalorian jeans guy has since been erased from history altogether,
04:36it'll be interesting to see how or even if Lucasfilm slash Disney decide to paper over this particular production blunder going forward.
04:44Number 5. A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far, Far Away
04:47Silently feeding a line that would become almost instantly iconic,
04:52those legendary words of a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,
04:55soon give way to one of the most rousing scores ever forged,
04:59and an opening crawl which subsequently sets the stage for the epic events to come.
05:03Yet while all these slowly drifting words and grand orchestra undoubtedly set the tone for the operatic adventures that lie ahead,
05:10their very existence completely pulverizes any notion of there being a fourth wall from minute one.
05:15Far from jarringly taking audiences out of the action, however,
05:18these now-legendary floating paragraphs of bright yellow exposition have become a beloved part of the Star Wars cinematic experience,
05:25and leave a rather disappointing gaping hole when left out in their traditional form entirely,
05:29as seen, or not in this case, in Rogue One and Solo's opening titles.
05:35Number 4. The Opening Crawl Of Return Of The Jedi Is Reference
05:38The Mandalorian
05:39And speaking of those famous stage-setting sentences that kickstart many a Star Wars adventure,
05:44Disney Plus' small-screen smash that is The Mandalorian came equipped with a rather cheeky nod to that long-running device in its second season.
05:51However, the words seen hovering around an exploding second Death Star during Season 2 Episode 1's flashback sequence
05:57also oddly act as yet another Mandalorian fourth-wall breaker.
06:01When translated from Oribesh to English,
06:03the text being projected around the erupting weapon in a Mos Pelgo bar reads,
06:07Little does Luke know that the Galactic Empire has secretly begun construction on a new armoured space station,
06:13even more powerful than the first dreaded Death Star.
06:16On top of being a little odd due to the fact that the second Death Star in question had actually just been blown up,
06:21the very existence of this nod to one of the lines in Return Of The Jedi's opening crawl
06:25works as a cheeky wink to those watching.
06:29Number 3. Let The Past Die The Last Jedi
06:31Of all the moments that split Star Wars fanatics right down the middle
06:35coming out of Rian Johnson's eighth episode of The Skywalker Saga,
06:39Kylo Ren telling Rey to let the past die felt like arguably the most pointed and eye-catching of the lot.
06:45Let the past die.
06:46Kill it.
06:47If you have to.
06:49For many, this line summed up Johnson's approach to his feature as a whole,
06:52preferring to take the franchise in a bold new direction,
06:55and leave the type of tired and already told tale many had come to expect from this Skywalker-centric epic in the past,
07:01and the delivery of Ren's speech later in the film,
07:03revealing to Rey that not only should the Sith, Jedi, and Rebels all die,
07:07but that the conflicted Jedi herself was a nobody,
07:10also left many feeling as though Johnson had made a point out of poking a hole in the fourth wall,
07:14and laughing off all of the many theories fans had heading into the flick when it came to Rey's part in the story, too.
07:20Despite some feeling bizarrely attacked by this meta-theme of letting the past die throughout the divisive flick,
07:25though, it's clear Johnson was simply looking to build on what fans knew and loved about those prior features
07:30and move the series on, as evidenced in Rey's arc in The Last Jedi.
07:352. Ashara Zavros Hums the Imperial March
07:38The Old Republic
07:39Jumping into the video game corner of this galaxy far, far away for this next entry,
07:44and to a largely overlooked beat that actually alluded to the existence of John Williams' unmistakable score
07:49within the world occupied by Jedi and Sith.
07:51Coming during a sequence seen in The Old Republic video game,
07:54players witness Ashara Zavros hum a rather familiar tune as she gathers herself post, well, you know.
08:05But in showcasing Zavros' singing of the Imperial March,
08:08the question of how in the holy hell Zavros stumbled upon this tune in the first place
08:12quickly invaded many of Star Wars fans' minds.
08:14In all honesty, this was likely nothing more than a cute tip of the cap
08:17to one of the most recognisable pieces of music the galaxy has to offer.
08:211. George Lucas takes Darth to one side
08:25LEGO Star Wars The Padawan Menace
08:27LEGO's many various spins on everything from Marvel to Star Wars
08:30can always be counted on to take a few hilarious shots at that sacred fourth wall
08:35over the course of whatever video game or feature offering they have lined up next.
08:39And keeping with that penchant for taking a lightsaber to the imaginary divide between audience and action,
08:44a moment that sees Darth Sidious converse and chuckle with Asajj Ventress
08:48via hologram in LEGO Star Wars The Padawan Menace
08:50is soon interrupted by an unexpected cameo from a giggling Darth Vader.
08:55A familiar voice shouting,
08:56CUT!
08:57Followed by a record scratch for good measure
08:59then paves the way for none other than LEGO George Lucas
09:02to storm onto set to drag his disruptive and confused Sith out of the exchange.
09:06CUT!
09:08CUT!
09:08Darth, you want a donut?
09:09YUM!
09:09CUT!
09:09CUT!
09:09Somebody get Darth a donut!
09:11Along with hilariously shining a light on this entire sequence
09:14being nothing more than a scene being shot for our entertainment,
09:17Lucas' acknowledging of the invading Sith as simply Darth
09:20was also a not-so-subtle nod towards the galaxy's creator
09:23now bizarrely referring to him as such in A New Hope
09:26when Ben Kenobi comes into contact with his old friend.
09:29He may be a master of evil,
09:30but even Darth's need a donut and a cuddle every now and again, you know.
09:33And that's our list.
09:35Know of any other times Star Wars broke the fourth wall?
09:38Let us know all about them in the comments section right down below
09:40and do not forget to like, share and click on that subscribe button while you're at it.
09:44I've been Gareth from WhatCultureStarWars.
09:46May the Force be with you.
09:47Thank you very much for watching this video today
09:49and I'm sure I'll see you very, very soon.
09:51Bye-bye!
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