Britt Hayes

Many Sesame Street viewers have long suspected — including a few wise kiddos — that puppet odd couple Bert and Ernie are more than just friends. The prolific children’s series has never really addressed Bert and Ernie’s sexual orientation, but a former writer for Sesame Street confirms what most of us felt in our hearts all along…even if the show itself continues to issue denials.

Burt Reynolds, the iconic mustachioed star of classics ranging from Smokey and the Bandit to Boogie Nights, has passed away at the age of 82. The actor died early Thursday at Jupiter Medical Center in Florida, as confirmed by his manager. No cause of death has been given at this time.

After Lady Bird, our imaginary BFF Greta Gerwig probably has her pick of just about any project she wants — as she damn well should. But it looks like the filmmaker behind last year’s awards season fave is sticking to the coming-of-age genre (for now), with a new take on Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel Little Women. If that match made in heaven isn’t enough for you, try this: Meryl Streep, Emma Stone, Saoirse Ronan, Timothée Chalamet and Florence Pugh are all circling parts in what is now officially my favorite movie of whatever year it’s released.

The tidal wave of sexual harassment and assault allegations that rocked Hollywood in recent months seemed to have taken a brief holiday vacation, but as evidenced by headlines (and the Golden Globes protest) over the past week, this long overdue reckoning will continue. Stan Lee, the former president of Marvel Comics and co-creator of many of the company’s iconic superheroes, is the latest name to become the subject of serious allegations, as employees of an unnamed nursing company have accused the 95-year-old legend of sexual harassment, groping and unwanted advances behind closed doors.

Over three decades after The Breakfast Club first charmed audiences, John Hughes’ high school classic still resonates with young viewers despite the growing generational divide. The years since its initial release have proven that The Breakfast Club is timeless, so it’s about damn time The Criterion Collection gave Hughes’ film the prestige upgrade treatment. The January 2 release will include never-before-seen footage and deleted scenes, like this newly-unearthed clip of Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy.

It didn’t take long for Star Wars theories and Easter eggs to flood the internet after The Last Jedi hit theaters (we put together our own handy video here). But to find one of the most interesting connections to Rian Johnson’s game-changing sequel, you’ll have to revisit last year’s Rogue One, which centered on a hastily-assembled team’s efforts to steal the Death Star plans from the Empire. As it turns out, that film features an Easter egg that sets up a crucial plot point in The Last Jedi.

Surely, at some point while watching Scooby-Doo’s animated adventures over the years, you must have wondered aloud to no one in particular, “Where the heck did Daphne and Velma come from? I mean, what is their deal?” The history of the Mystery Machine’s lady passengers has been shrouded in secrecy for far too long, but thanks to a new live-action movie, we will finally learn the details of their murky past. And maybe — just maybe — we’ll find out how they wound up hanging out with a stoner who owns a van, a dog with a limited vocabulary and a speech impediment, and a man who is clearly old enough to be their father.

Just yesterday, Universal pushed the release date for Fast and Furious 9 (or whatever they end up calling this one) back a whole year from 2019 to 2020. The move led many to suspect it might have something to do with the upcoming spinoff, which focuses on Dwayne Johnson’s Hobbs and was announced in the wake of some highly-publicized drama between Johnson and co-star Vin Diesel on the set of Fate of the Furious. Fellow #Family member Tyrese Gibson has been pretty vocal about the whole thing on social media, going as far as to beg Johnson to reconsider his spinoff plans. But following the Fast 9 release date change, Gibson has shifted from begging to downright dragging.

Marvel and Sony have already set a 2019 release date for the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming, which hits theaters in just a few weeks. But as you probably suspected, that momentous collaboration won’t end with two films, as Tom Holland himself has confirmed Marvel’s — totally not shocking at all — plans for a complete Spidey trilogy. It may be the least surprising news you read all day, but it’s still comforting to know that Spider-Man is back in good hands (for at least three films and a few MCU appearances, anyway).

Just yesterday, Tom Cruise himself confirmed that Top Gun 2 is finally, officially, honest-to-goodness-they’re-not-joking-this-time happening. Today, it looks like it’s even closer to reality than we thought, as Oblivion director Joseph Kosinski is reportedly the frontrunner to helm the long-promised sequel to Tony Scott’s 1986 classic — not entirely surprising, since he’s worked with Cruise before.