The lovable comic actor Fred Willard, whose on-screen career spanned 50 years, passed away on Friday. The scene-stealing star of moves like Best in Show and The Mighty Wind, along with TV shows like Modern Family and Netflix's upcoming Space Force, was 86-years-old. Willard's daughter, Hope, tweeted out the news this afternoon, remarking that her father had died peacefully on Friday evening.

It is with a heavy heart that I share the news my father passed away very peacefully last night at the fantastic age of 86 years old. He kept moving, working and making us happy until the very end.We loved him so very much! We will miss him forever.

— Hope Willard (@Mulbytime7) May 16, 2020

Willard worked steadily in comedic roles for decades before finding notoriety as part of writer/director Christoper Guest's company of impish improv actors, starring in acclaimed mockumentaries This is Spinal Tap!, Waiting for Guffman, The Mighty Wind, and Best in Show. In a career that ranged from Mad About You to Community to Pixar's Wall-E to recurring as Phil's dad, Frank, on Modern Family, Willard always provided hilarious moments and memorable laughs. Willard was nominated for four Emmy Awards - three for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Hank MacDougall in Everybody Loves Raymond, and one in the same category for Modern Family. Here's our own interview with Willard from 2008 for Wall-E... [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2008/06/26/wall8226e-movie-interview-fred-willard"] Christopher Guest's wife, Jaime Lee Curtis, posted the following to her Twitter account...

How lucky that we all got to enjoy Fred Willard’s gifts. He is with his missed Mary now. Thanks for the deep belly laughs Mr. Willard. Best in Show (7/11) Movie CLIP - Judging the Hounds (2000) HD https://t.co/wPrbk9VjWI via @YouTube

— Jamie Lee Curtis (@jamieleecurtis) May 16, 2020

With over 300 credits to his name, what was your favorite Fred Willard role? Some of Fred Willard's work can even be found here, in our Top 25 Comedies of All Time... [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-comedies&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

The lovable comic actor Fred Willard, whose on-screen career spanned 50 years, passed away on Friday. The scene-stealing star of moves like Best in Show and The Mighty Wind, along with TV shows like Modern Family and Netflix's upcoming Space Force, was 86-years-old. Willard's daughter, Hope, tweeted out the news this afternoon, remarking that her father had died peacefully on Friday evening.

It is with a heavy heart that I share the news my father passed away very peacefully last night at the fantastic age of 86 years old. He kept moving, working and making us happy until the very end.We loved him so very much! We will miss him forever.

— Hope Willard (@Mulbytime7) May 16, 2020

Willard worked steadily in comedic roles for decades before finding notoriety as part of writer/director Christoper Guest's company of impish improv actors, starring in acclaimed mockumentaries This is Spinal Tap!, Waiting for Guffman, The Mighty Wind, and Best in Show. In a career that ranged from Mad About You to Community to Pixar's Wall-E to recurring as Phil's dad, Frank, on Modern Family, Willard always provided hilarious moments and memorable laughs. Willard was nominated for four Emmy Awards - three for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Hank MacDougall in Everybody Loves Raymond, and one in the same category for Modern Family. Here's our own interview with Willard from 2008 for Wall-E... [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2008/06/26/wall8226e-movie-interview-fred-willard"] Christopher Guest's wife, Jaime Lee Curtis, posted the following to her Twitter account...

How lucky that we all got to enjoy Fred Willard’s gifts. He is with his missed Mary now. Thanks for the deep belly laughs Mr. Willard. Best in Show (7/11) Movie CLIP - Judging the Hounds (2000) HD https://t.co/wPrbk9VjWI via @YouTube

— Jamie Lee Curtis (@jamieleecurtis) May 16, 2020

With over 300 credits to his name, what was your favorite Fred Willard role? Some of Fred Willard's work can even be found here, in our Top 25 Comedies of All Time... [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-comedies&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld has clarified his statement, from a few days ago, regarding his opinion that Marvel Studios has "zero" plans to make Deadpool 3. "Here’s what people don’t want to hear, but thank God I’m a realist," Liefeld had said. "I feel like Deadpool, the movies, they’ve set sail," Now, talking to io9, Liefeld's doubled down on his previous quotes, claiming ""Do I know that there is no movement on a Deadpool 3 right now? I know that. Yes." "And does that worry me? No. Not at all. What I did was I answered a question honestly. And what I learned this week is just lie. Just tell people everything is lollipop and unicorns and rainbows and you’ll be better off in your life because people want to be lied to." Liefeld, no longer listed as a producer on Deadpool 3, still insists he's getting large sums thanks to Deadpool. "I have Deadpool revenue streams that have existed since 1991...I already get paid," he said. "If you make this movie [or not], I’m getting a fat check." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-a-z-of-deadpool&captions=true"] Going forward, if the film does happen, Liefeld is a huge advocate for star Ryan Reynolds being given creative control. "My opinion is Ryan [Reynolds] should be steering the ship and just completely handed the reins, even to the point of plugging characters in...Give him three characters he can integrate and let him integrate them," he stated. "If people ask what I want to see, that’s where it begins. Just please don’t micromanage the guy. Just give him free rein." For more movie news, get the skinny on Phil Lord and Chris Miller's new space movie (starring Ryan Gosling), the low down on how the John Wick TV series will differ from the movies, and the scoop on dead characters that might return for the next two Mission Impossible films. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/31/top-100-movies-of-the-decade"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld has clarified his statement, from a few days ago, regarding his opinion that Marvel Studios has "zero" plans to make Deadpool 3. "Here’s what people don’t want to hear, but thank God I’m a realist," Liefeld had said. "I feel like Deadpool, the movies, they’ve set sail," Now, talking to io9, Liefeld's doubled down on his previous quotes, claiming ""Do I know that there is no movement on a Deadpool 3 right now? I know that. Yes." "And does that worry me? No. Not at all. What I did was I answered a question honestly. And what I learned this week is just lie. Just tell people everything is lollipop and unicorns and rainbows and you’ll be better off in your life because people want to be lied to." Liefeld, no longer listed as a producer on Deadpool 3, still insists he's getting large sums thanks to Deadpool. "I have Deadpool revenue streams that have existed since 1991...I already get paid," he said. "If you make this movie [or not], I’m getting a fat check." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-a-z-of-deadpool&captions=true"] Going forward, if the film does happen, Liefeld is a huge advocate for star Ryan Reynolds being given creative control. "My opinion is Ryan [Reynolds] should be steering the ship and just completely handed the reins, even to the point of plugging characters in...Give him three characters he can integrate and let him integrate them," he stated. "If people ask what I want to see, that’s where it begins. Just please don’t micromanage the guy. Just give him free rein." For more movie news, get the skinny on Phil Lord and Chris Miller's new space movie (starring Ryan Gosling), the low down on how the John Wick TV series will differ from the movies, and the scoop on dead characters that might return for the next two Mission Impossible films. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/31/top-100-movies-of-the-decade"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

While Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker may have polarized the fanbase, leading many to seek out further explanation via the movie's novelization, one thing moviegoers seemed to be unanimously enamored by was pint-sized droidsmith Babu Frik. A member of Zorii Bliss' Spice Runner crew, Babu Frik was, at first, instrumental in leading our heroes to the wreckage of the Death Star. Then he appeared near the end of the film, with Zorri, during the clash with the Sith Eternal fleet at the Battle of Exegol. And he was never not wholly adorable. Star Wars concept designer and sculptor Luke Fisher posted a few pieces of early concept art for Babu Frik on his Instagram, showcasing a couple initial designs for the character. The first image shows a large-eared goblin-style creature, which seems like it could have been a cute addition to the saga. The second picture is a bug-like being with giant fly eyes. Chances are fans wouldn't have gone ga-ga for that one. You can see Fisher's full "Early Babu Frik Explorations" post here. For more Star Wars news, check out our review of The Clone Wars' series finale and all the casting news for The Mandalorian: Season 2 - including Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett, Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano, and Justified's Timothy Olyphant. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/13/katee-sackhoff-cast-as-bo-katan-in-the-mandalorian-ign-now"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

While Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker may have polarized the fanbase, leading many to seek out further explanation via the movie's novelization, one thing moviegoers seemed to be unanimously enamored by was pint-sized droidsmith Babu Frik. A member of Zorii Bliss' Spice Runner crew, Babu Frik was, at first, instrumental in leading our heroes to the wreckage of the Death Star. Then he appeared near the end of the film, with Zorri, during the clash with the Sith Eternal fleet at the Battle of Exegol. And he was never not wholly adorable. Star Wars concept designer and sculptor Luke Fisher posted a few pieces of early concept art for Babu Frik on his Instagram, showcasing a couple initial designs for the character. The first image shows a large-eared goblin-style creature, which seems like it could have been a cute addition to the saga. The second picture is a bug-like being with giant fly eyes. Chances are fans wouldn't have gone ga-ga for that one. You can see Fisher's full "Early Babu Frik Explorations" post here. For more Star Wars news, check out our review of The Clone Wars' series finale and all the casting news for The Mandalorian: Season 2 - including Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett, Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano, and Justified's Timothy Olyphant. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/13/katee-sackhoff-cast-as-bo-katan-in-the-mandalorian-ign-now"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

Phil Lord and Chris Miller's Hollywood credits include the Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse, the Jump Street movies, and roughly half of a Star Wars movie about a young Han Solo. But rather than let the final frontier go unexplored, the filmmaking duo are headed back to space for a new film starring Ryan Gosling. According to Variety, Lord and Miller have been brought on by MGM to direct and produce the film adaptation of a space thriller novel by The Martian author Andy Weir. Weir's upcoming book is set for publication in Spring 2021 by Random House, but it doesn't have a title at the moment, so it's being referred to as "Project Hail Mary." A fitting placeholder title for a story about an astronaut aboard a space ship on a desperate mission to save the planet. Lord and Miller were fired from Solo: A Star Wars Story in the middle of production due to creative differences. According to reports, Lord and Miller have a more loose and improvisational style when it comes to movie-making, but that didn't sit well with Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, who like to go strictly by the script, so they were taken off the project and replaced with director Ron Howard. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-wars-and-its-weird-recent-history-of-director-drop-outs&captions=true"] The 2015 film adaptation of The Martian by director Ridley Scott starring Matt Damon earned plenty of commercial success and critical praise, emphasized by its seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor in a Leading Role. So there's little wonder why top talent are already lining up to make a movie based on Weir's next project. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/12/boba-fett-lives-how-the-bounty-hunter-is-coming-back-to-the-mandalorian"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joshua is Senior Features Editor at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.

Phil Lord and Chris Miller's Hollywood credits include the Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse, the Jump Street movies, and roughly half of a Star Wars movie about a young Han Solo. But rather than let the final frontier go unexplored, the filmmaking duo are headed back to space for a new film starring Ryan Gosling. According to Variety, Lord and Miller have been brought on by MGM to direct and produce the film adaptation of a space thriller novel by The Martian author Andy Weir. Weir's upcoming book is set for publication in Spring 2021 by Random House, but it doesn't have a title at the moment, so it's being referred to as "Project Hail Mary." A fitting placeholder title for a story about an astronaut aboard a space ship on a desperate mission to save the planet. Lord and Miller were fired from Solo: A Star Wars Story in the middle of production due to creative differences. According to reports, Lord and Miller have a more loose and improvisational style when it comes to movie-making, but that didn't sit well with Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, who like to go strictly by the script, so they were taken off the project and replaced with director Ron Howard. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-wars-and-its-weird-recent-history-of-director-drop-outs&captions=true"] The 2015 film adaptation of The Martian by director Ridley Scott starring Matt Damon earned plenty of commercial success and critical praise, emphasized by its seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor in a Leading Role. So there's little wonder why top talent are already lining up to make a movie based on Weir's next project. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/12/boba-fett-lives-how-the-bounty-hunter-is-coming-back-to-the-mandalorian"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joshua is Senior Features Editor at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.

Timothy Olyphant has reportedly been cast in The Mandalorian's second season, which premieres this October on Disney+. Per The Hollywood Reporter, it's unclear if Olyphant will play "a new character or a returning favorite in a new guise." The veteran actor is probably best known for his roles in HBO's Deadwood as Sheriff Seth Bullock, and as US Marshal Raylan GIvens in FX's Justified. Season 2 of Mando has already wrapped filming and is not expected to be delayed. You can check out Olyphant alongside the late Luke Perry in this deleted scene from Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in the video below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/28/once-upon-a-timein-hollywood-deleted-scene"] Olyphant will join a growing list of Season 2 newcomers including Katee Sackhoff as Bo Katan, Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett, and Rosario Dawson as fan-favorite Ahsoka Tano. Behind the camera, directors Robert Rodriguez (From Dusk Till Dawn) and Peyton Reed (Ant-Man) have both confirmed they will be directing episodes in Season 2. For more Star Wars, be sure to check out the Disney+ docuseries, tDisney Gallery: The Mandalorian, which gives fans an in-depth look at the making of Season 1 including interviews with director Dave Filoni and leading man Pedro Pascal as Mando. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/13/katee-sackhoff-cast-as-bo-katan-in-the-mandalorian-ign-now"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] David Griffin still watches DuckTales in his pajamas with a cereal bowl in hand. He's also the TV Editor for IGN. Say hi on Twitter.

Update: Slash Film has revealed which character Timothy Olyphant will play in The Mandalorian: Season 2, and it's one hardcore Star Wars readers may recognize. The site's sources claim Olyphant is playing Cobb Vanth, a character first introduced in the 2015 novel Star Wars: Aftermath. Vanth is a former slave who becomes sheriff of a Tatooine settlement called Freetown. Vanth acquires what appears to be Boba Fett's discarded, acid-worn armor from a group of Jawas, and it sounds like Olyphant will be wearing the iconic armor in The Mandalorian. Vanth is committed to protecting Freetown and its inhabitants from the various criminal organizations trying to fill the power vacuum after Jabba the Hutt's demise. Fun fact - one of those inhabitants is Jabba's former Rancor keeper Malakili. [caption id="attachment_2354005" align="aligncenter" width="1650"] Cobb Vanth is the rare Star Wars character to debut in book form before jumping to live-action.[/caption] This casting gives us a somewhat better idea of how Temuera Morrison's Boba Fett will factor into Season 2. Fett will no doubt be eager to reclaim his lost armor, and he may even turn to Pedro Pascal's Din Djarin for help in tracking it down. The series may actually be borrowing a plot point from the abandoned Boba Fett movie. The series could very well be positioning Cobb Vanth as the Disney equivalent of Jodo Kast, a Legends character who was infamous for impersonating Fett. We also wouldn't be surprised to learn it was actually Vanth, not Boba Fett, teased in the stinger scene from The Mandalorian: Season 1, Episode 5. Let us know what you think in the comments below. The original story is below: [poilib element="accentDivider"] Timothy Olyphant has reportedly been cast in The Mandalorian's second season, which premieres this October on Disney+. Per The Hollywood Reporter, it's unclear if Olyphant will play "a new character or a returning favorite in a new guise." The veteran actor is probably best known for his roles in HBO's Deadwood as Sheriff Seth Bullock, and as US Marshal Raylan GIvens in FX's Justified. Season 2 of Mando has already wrapped filming and is not expected to be delayed. You can check out Olyphant alongside the late Luke Perry in this deleted scene from Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in the video below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/28/once-upon-a-timein-hollywood-deleted-scene"] Olyphant will join a growing list of Season 2 newcomers including Katee Sackhoff as Bo Katan, Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett, and Rosario Dawson as fan-favorite Ahsoka Tano. Behind the camera, directors Robert Rodriguez (From Dusk Till Dawn) and Peyton Reed (Ant-Man) have both confirmed they will be directing episodes in Season 2. For more Star Wars, be sure to check out the Disney+ docuseries, tDisney Gallery: The Mandalorian, which gives fans an in-depth look at the making of Season 1 including interviews with director Dave Filoni and leading man Pedro Pascal as Mando. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/13/katee-sackhoff-cast-as-bo-katan-in-the-mandalorian-ign-now"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] David Griffin still watches DuckTales in his pajamas with a cereal bowl in hand. He's also the TV Editor for IGN. Say hi on Twitter.