Britt Hayes

With the current Star Wars trilogy nearing an end, Lucasfilm is looking ahead to the future of the iconic franchise. Not content to have merely one new series of Star Wars films on the horizon (courtesy of Rian Johnson), the studio is hedging its bets with a second series; in a pop culture marriage to rival that of Disney and Fox, Lucasfilm has enlisted the creators of Game of Thrones to work their mega-budget magic on the galaxies far, far away. But what exactly will this new series be about? We have some ideas.

Jennifer Lawrence did not come to play.

Seth Rogen, who stays about half as busy as The Rock (which is still, like, 20 times busier than you’ll ever be), is stepping behind the news desk for his next gig. In what could be a surprising dramatic turn for Rogen the actor, he’s signed on to play the late Walter Cronkite for director David Gordon Green’s Newsflash — which chronicles the evening news host’s coverage of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963.

Don Rickles’ talents were seemingly limitless: An outrageous insult comic, a gifted dramatic actor, a welcome sight on stages and screens (big and small), and a constant presence whose career endured for decades, often surpassing his contemporaries. And now he’s gone on to join them, as the legendary Rickles passed away today, April 6, at the age of 90.

As was widely rumored yesterday following NBC’s official notice that Charlie Sheen would be making a “revealing personal announcement,” the actor has come forward to publicly reveal that he is HIV positive. Sheen’s appearance on the Today show to declare this intimate battle seems solemnly appropriate given how highly-publicized and well-documented his struggles have been throughout the years.

As with most unfortunate news, this one comes to us abruptly with no warning. The great Wes Craven, the legendary horror filmmaker who brought us films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream, has died at 76. Craven had been battling brain cancer and passed away in his home in Los Angeles.

Just when you thought we might be done with Star Wars news today — nope! The glorious internet has provided us with our first legitimate look at Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker in The Force Awakens, and he looks like he’s aged quite nicely into a wizened Jedi.

This is a pretty huge blow to fans of wrestling, but also to fans of awesome humans in general. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, the legendary wrestling star and actor, has passed away at the age of 61. Piper had previously been struggling with cancer, but according to early reports, his death was the result of a cardiac arrest.

This is absolutely harrowing news: iconic actor and living legend Harrison Ford has been critically injured in a plane crash. The plane crash-landed in Venice, California today and Ford was subsequently rushed to the hospital where his condition is currently critical. Ford, who’s been reprising his role in the new series of Star Wars films and recently signed on for the long-gestating Blade Runner sequel, is 72 years old—making his enduring dedication to these franchises even more remarkable.

A biopic based on the Mötley Crue book ‘The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band’ has been in the works for several years, but it’s been a while since we’ve heard anything about the rowdy project. That changed today, as Focus Features has acquired the rights to distribute the film, with ‘Jackass’ director Jeff Tremaine still attached to helm the project—as if there could be a more appropriate choice for director.