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
00:05way to glare straight down the lens at you, here are those times Star Wars very much acknowledged
00:09itself and those watching at home.
00:11I'm Gareth from WhatCulture Star Wars and here are 10 Times Star Wars Broke the 4th
00:17Wall.
00:1810.
00:19Rey takes the lightsabers back to Tatooine, the Rise of Skywalker
00:22While Tatooine would undoubtedly go on to become one of the most pivotal and iconic
00:26spots in the Star Wars universe over the course of the Skywalker saga, that still didn't
00:30stop a few folks from scratching their heads by the time it played host to the final scene
00:34of the Rise of Skywalker in 2019.
00:37Sure, the sight of Rey deciding to bury both Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa's lightsabers
00:41near the former's homeland was a sweet enough touch, but fans were still left wondering
00:45why in the hell Palpatine's granddaughter decided to choose this spot as the burial
00:49ground in the first place.
00:51Luke had spent much of his time on the planet wishing he was elsewhere, and Leia only ever
00:55visited 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
01:02to those in cinemas who had been strapped in for much of the ride up to this point than
01:06anything else.
01:089.
01:09Jar Jar Binks' Fate – Aftermath, Empire's End
01:12This calamitous Gungan known as Jar Jar Binks would go on to become the butt of many a Star
01:16Wars joke following on from his 1999 debut.
01:20On top of having his significance and role in general largely reduced in the wake of
01:23the Phantom Menace, The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams would even reference at one point
01:28possibly having Binks' skeleton appear in the desert on Jakku.
01:32That ultimately wouldn't come to pass, of course, but one rather poignant piece of fourth
01:36wall breaking pertaining to the character did actually pop up in Chuck Wendig's novel
01:40Aftermath, Empire's End.
01:42In this canon book which takes place in the wake of Return of the Jedi, Binks is described
01:46as being a street performer who, after being ostracized and shunned by Gungans and the
01:50Naboo, became beloved by refugee children as he goofed around for their enjoyment.
01:55Wendig would later add that this was very much a subtle commentary on Star Wars fans'
01:58feelings and reactions to the character over the years.
02:018.
02:02Hey Look, It's Boba Fett – A New Hope
02:05Long before he was being a touch overexposed on the small screen, Star Wars fans were simply
02:09champing 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
02:17armour-wearing badass into the thick of, George Lucas had another ingenious idea on
02:22how to capitalise on Fett's unexpected popularity back in the late 90s.
02:26During the re-jigged scene involving a now CGI Jabba the Hutt conversing with Han Solo,
02:31Lucas' 1997 special edition of A New Hope brought with it the pointless return of the
02:35bounty hunter first seen in The Empire Strikes Back.
02:38Really hammering home just how shoehorned Boba was when it came to his superimposed,
02:42unexpected and entirely silent cameo, the Jango Fett clone would then sign off his appearance
02:47with a not-so-subtle glare down the camera as if to say, you wanted Boba, I give you
02:52Boba.
02:537.
02:54Stormtrooper'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 comes
03:02in the form of the Empire's choice of faceless trooper being quite possibly the worst shot
03:07in the galaxy when equipped with a blaster.
03:10After initially being built up as formidable foes, known for their ruthlessness and precision
03:14by Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope, the evidently poor accuracy of the chiefly decked out stormtroopers
03:19could 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
03:30episode, The Prisoner.
03:31During an exchange between Bill Burr's Mayfield and Pedro Pascal's Mando, the former notes
03:36how he was formerly an Imperial sharpshooter.
03:39Without missing a beat, Din Djarin quips, that's not saying much, pretty much making
03:42the aforementioned much-ridiculed accuracy of the troops canon in one cheeky line.
03:476.
03:48Wooden beams being exposed pisses off some fans – The Book of Boba Fett
03:52Though this one is more of an unfortunate mistake than a purely intentional piece of
03:56fourth wall smashing, it did still take a number of folks out of Disney Plus' recent
04:00Mandalorian spin-off, so it definitely earns a spot on this list.
04:03Adding to the gaff 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, episode three of The Book of Boba
04:12Fett also couldn't escape the realities of shooting when it came time to introduce
04:16the finished product to audiences.
04:18Coming during a sequence which saw one of the biker gang members scooting around Moss
04:22Esper, one rather passionate Star Wars fanatic on TikTok was quick to notice that a few wooden
04:27beams used to help build the make-believe set were very much exposed as the camera panned
04:31from 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
04:40over this particular production blunder going forward.
04:445.
04:45A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far, Far Away
04:48Silently feeding a line that would become almost instantly iconic, those legendary words
04:53of a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away soon give way to one of the most rousing scores
04:58ever forged, and 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
05:07for the operatic adventures that lie ahead, their very existence completely pulverises
05:12any notion of there being a fourth war from minute one.
05:15Far from jarringly taking audiences out of the action, however, these now legendary floating
05:19paragraphs of bright yellow exposition have become a beloved part of the Star Wars cinematic
05:24experience and leave a rather disappointing gaping hole when left out in their traditional
05:28form entirely.
05:29As seen, or not in this case, in Rogue One and Solo's opening titles.
05:344.
05:35The Opening Crawl Of Return Of The Jedi Is Referenced – The Mandalorian
05:39And speaking of those famous stage setting sentences that kickstart many a Star Wars
05:43adventure, Disney Plus' small screen smash that is The Mandalorian came equipped with
05:47a 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
05:552 episode 1's flashback sequence also oddly act as yet another Mandalorian fourth wallbreaker.
06:01When translated from Oribes to English, the text being projected around the erupting weapon
06:05in a Mos Pelgo bar reads,
06:07Little does Luke know that the Galactic Empire has secretly begun construction on a new armored
06:12space station, even 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
06:20actually just been blown up, the very existence of this nod to one of the lines in Return
06:24Of The Jedi's opening crawl works as a cheeky wink to those watching.
06:283.
06:29Let The Past Die – The Last Jedi Of all the moments that split Star Wars fanatics
06:34right down the middle coming out of Rian Johnson's eighth episode of the Skywalker saga, Kylo
06:39Ren telling Rey to let the past die felt like arguably the most pointed and eye-catching
06:43of the lot.
06:46For many, this line summed up Johnson's approach to his feature as a whole, preferring
06:53to take the franchise in a bold new direction and leave the type of tired and already told
06:57tale 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, revealing to Rey that not only should
07:05the Sith, Jedi and Rebels all die, but 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
07:14wall and laughing off all of the many theories fans had heading into the flick when it came
07:18to Rey's part in the story too.
07:20Despite some feeling bizarrely attacked by this meta-theme of letting the past die throughout
07:24the divisive flick, though, it's clear Johnson was simply looking to build on what fans knew
07:28and loved about those prior features and move the series on, as evidenced in Rey's arc
07:33in The Last Jedi.
07:352.
07:36Ashara Zavros Hums the Imperial March – The Old Republic
07:40Jumping 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'
07:48unmistakable score within the world occupied by Jedi and Sith.
07:52Coming during a sequence seen in the Old Republic video game, players witness Ashara Zavros
07:56hum a rather familiar tune as she gathers herself post, well, you know.
08:05But in showcasing Zavros' singing of the Imperial March, the question of how in the
08:09holy hell Zavros stumbled upon this tune in the first place quickly invaded many a Star
08:13Wars fan's minds.
08:14In all honesty, this was likely nothing more than a cute tip of the cap to one of the most
08:18recognisable pieces of music the galaxy has to offer.
08:221.
08:23George Lucas Takes Darth to One Side – Lego Star Wars The Padawan Menace
08:27Lego's many various spins on everything from Marvel to Star Wars can always be counted
08:32on to take a few hilarious shots at that sacred fourth wall over the course of whatever video
08:36game or feature offering they have lined up next.
08:39And keeping with that penchant for taking a lightsaber to the imaginary divide between
08:43audience and action, a moment that sees Darth Sidious converse and chuckle with Asajj Ventress
08:48via hologram in Lego Star Wars The Padawan Menace is soon interrupted by an unexpected
08:52cameo from a giggling Darth Vader.
08:55A familiar voice shouting CUT, followed by a record scratch for good measure then paves
08:59the way for none other than Lego George Lucas to storm onto set to drag his disruptive and
09:04confused Sith out of the exchange.
09:11Along with hilariously shining a light on this entire sequence being nothing more than
09:15a scene being shot for our entertainment, Lucas' acknowledging of the invading Sith
09:19as simply Darth was also a not-so-subtle nod towards the galaxy's creator now bizarrely
09:24referring to him as such in A New Hope, when Ben Kenobi comes into contact with his old
09:28friend.
09:29He may be a master of evil, but even Darths need a donut and a cuddle every now and again.