Breaking the fourth wall where a character admits the fictional nature of their surroundings and addresses the audience directly becomes more and more common in movies of all genres. In sci-fi films, the technique is often used for comedic effect or to add a meta element to the narrative. Either way, it's a welcome and clever way to include the viewers in the story and bring them along for an exciting ride.

This cinematic narrative technique originated in theatre, where the stage is surrounded by three walls, with the audience being the fourth — by breaking that wall, actors blurred the line between fiction and reality, letting the viewers in on the joke or implying the story, its plot, and implications extend beyond the stage. While most sci-fi movies, with their fantastical worlds and characters, offer the audience a welcome break from reality, these five films chose to shatter the fourth wall but did it so well that it only complemented their narratives and endeared them to the viewers.

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Spaceballs (1987)

Rick Moranis as Dark Helmet

Mel Brooks' cult sci-fi satire is basically one big fourth-wall-shattering reference-bursting epic. It is as if Star Wars, Austin Powers, Star Trek, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and a dozen other sci-fi giants came together and had a lovable, socially awkward, and hilarious child. The movie is filled with self-reference and meta moments, and the characters are fully aware of not only being in it but also being filmed in real-time. They accidentally knock over a crew member during a lightsaber fight, capture stunt doubles, and feature the movie's name on pretty much everything. In the most famous fourth-wall-breaking and meta moment, the villains pop in a Spaceballs VHS tape to figure out their next move and end up watching themselves watching the tape.

Nothing is spared from mockery here, including the movie itself and the movie-making process in general. Spaceballs is certainly not subtle at breaking the fourth wall, but it's part of its charm and what makes it so memorable and hilarious.

Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Tim Curry as Dr. Frank N Furter

Another modern classic, Rocky Horror Picture Show, is a horror, sci-fi, comedy musical extravaganza that is filled to the brim with fourth-wall-breaking moments and mocking nods to the medium itself, particularly during the final musical numbers where fabulous Dr. Frank N Furter (Tim Curry) sings directly into the camera. He exchanges knowing looks with the audience throughout the movie along with sarcastic remarks like 'Well, how nice' and even tosses a drink straight at the camera. And that is not to mention that the film has a narrator, a criminologist (Charles Gray), who sets the scene and addresses the audience directly.

Unlike Spaceballs, Rocky Horror Picture Show isn't built around breaking the fourth wall, and while it does spoof the 1950s horror flicks, it's much more than simply a parody. It's clever, eccentric, often underrated, and invites the audience for a bizarre ride that they will, to quote the Criminologist, "remember for a very long time."

Deadpool (2016) & Deadpool 2 (2018)

deadpool screencap Cropped

Perhaps, the most notorious serial fourth-wall breaker of recent times, Deadpool, goes beyond just occasional nods and builds an entire dialogue with the audience, filled with self-references, mockery of the cast, studio, Marvel, other superhero movies, and even the viewers themselves. Although the origin of his consistent fourth-wall breaking can be traced back to the comics, Ryan Reynolds perfectly delivers it on screen and always lets the audience in on the joke. In one of the most famous moments (though there are too many of those to count or pick a favorite), Deadpool actually mentions 'the fourth wall break inside a fourth wall break' that, apparently, amounts to sixteen walls.

What's more, Deadpool extends this narrative device outside of the movies and shatters the fourth wall from within the ads — including several ones for Aviation Gin, owned by Ryan Reynolds — and even highjacks a Celine Dion's music promo video for Deadpool 2. This is some next-level meta.

Free Guy (2021)

Free Guy poster

Having mastered the fourth-wall-breaking technique in Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds boldly brought it to his 2021 movie. Oddly resembling Truman Show, only with a video game character realizing he's in a game, Free Guy is an excellent example of meta sci-fi movies, filled with irreverent humor and Reynold's very-Deadpool charm. It explores the idea of what it would be like to be an NPC (Non-Player Character) in a modern MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) shooter game, at the same time pointing out their casual and all-too-common brutality. At one particular fourth-wall-breaking moment, the main character uses a Captain America shield, accompanied by the Avengers theme song and followed by Chris Evans' angry reaction to it.

In the tradition of extending the fourth wall break to the movie's marketing, Free Guy's promo video features Deadpool and Korg, a rock warrior from Thor: Ragnarok, watching and leaving snarky comments on the film's trailer. Reynolds (as Deadpool) takes jabs at Disney's acquisition of Fox and the delayed release of Free Guy, mocks the cliched elements of the movie and its actors, and even asks Korg for any tips on joining the MCU.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

Baby Groot dancing

The subtle fourth-wall-breaking moment is not only adorable but also historic as it marks the first time this narrative device was used in the MCU — while Deadpool is part of the Marvel Comic Universe, he's not officially involved in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, much to the dismay of the character as seen above. It happens during the Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 opening credits, where Baby Groot is engrossed in dancing to the Electric Light Orchestra's "Mr. Blue Sky" while the rest of the Guardians are in the throes of battle with the Abilisk. After catching a ride on a rodent-like creature, Baby Groot tumbles across the ground and bumps straight into the camera with an audible sound.

This brief moment might seem insignificant, but it sets a precedent and opens the door to other fourth-wall-breaking moments in the upcoming Marvel movies — something that many fans have been hoping to see for years.

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