Christina Applegate is opening up about her thoughts on death and how it has shaped her outlook in life. The actress, who was diagnosed with MS in 2021, has already made arrangements when the time comes, and shared that she has already secured three burial plots as she continues to navigate personal challenges and reflects on what matters most.

Christina Applegate Thinks About Death Daily

On March 19, the 54-year-old actress was on NPR’s “Wild Card with Rachel Martin” podcast, wherein she talked about living with multiple sclerosis. When asked how often she thinks about death, Applegate answered, “Every day.”

“‘Cause it’s looming. I mean, it looms for all of us,” she continued. Applegate says that even though death will come for all of us, it might be different for someone like her, who is living with a condition that currently has no cure. “For people who have a disease like this, you never know, you know?” she said.

According to the Mayo Clinic, MS is an autoimmune disease wherein the protective covering of the nerves is attacked. It may cause weakness, numbness, lack of coordination, and even cognitive issues.

The Actress Has Purchased Three Burial Plots

With the possibility of death always on her mind, Applegate said that she has already bought three burial plots for her family. She didn’t specify where the location is, but said it was a “pretty” place, and she jumped at the chance to purchase the plots when she found out they were available.

Applegate candidly talked about the place, saying that she needed to choose a type of tree that would be planted there. “They’re going to plant a tree there ’cause it’s really sunny. And I want my visitors to not, you know, be sweating,” she told the host.

As for why she decided to purchase the plots, she said that it’s one less thing her family has to deal with in the future.

Christina Applegate Shares One Of Her Fears

Despite death being on her mind daily, Applegate said that she’s not “comfortable” thinking about it. The thought of leaving her child behind is devastating, and that makes her “scared” of death.

“I’m really afraid of it because of her,” referring to her 15-year-old daughter Sadie, whom she shares with husband Martyn LeNoble. The actress became emotional as she said, “I can’t even talk about, like, I don’t know what her life’s going to be like, and you don’t know when it’s going to be – could be, like, anytime.”

In February, as The Blast previously reported, the actress shared an update about her health and said she mostly spent her days in bed. However, she still makes the effort to bring her daughter to school because that’s the only time they can be alone by themselves. Applegate described it as her “favorite thing to do.”

Inside The Actress’ MS Battle

Applegate shared her multiple sclerosis diagnosis with the public in August 2021, writing on X that she had been diagnosed with MS a few months prior. “It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some a-shole blocks it,” she wrote.

Following her revelation, Applegate attended events walking with the help of a cane. She was one of the presenters at the 2024 Emmy Awards, wherein she poked fun at herself by telling the audience who gave her a standing ovation, “Oh my God, you’re totally shaming me with disability by standing up.”

Applegate started a podcast called “MeSsy” with fellow actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who is also living with MS. In one of the episodes, the actress detailed her struggles with the disease, sharing that at one point, she was screaming in bed because of pain.

Christina Applegate Stepped Away From Acting

Applegate was in the middle of filming the third season of the Netflix series “Dead to Me” when she was diagnosed with MS. Production was paused so she could seek treatment, and she eventually returned to finish shooting. However, season 3, which premiered in 2022, was the show’s last.

Afterward, Applegate took a step back from her acting career due to MS. In a Vanity Fair interview in 2023, she acknowledged that “Dead to Me” may have been her final acting work because of the nature of her disease. “This is a progressive disease. I don’t know if I’m going to get worse,” she stated.

Despite stepping away from on-screen roles, Applegate has worked on other projects, including voice-over work, podcasting, and writing. Her No. 1 New York Times bestselling memoir, “You With the Sad Eyes,” was released on March 3.

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Rachael Leigh Cook has shared a rare glimpse into her teenage romance with Rider Strong.

Speaking to Strong’s Boy Meets World costar, Danielle Fishel, on the Wednesday, March 18, episode of  the“Teenbeat” podcast, Cook, 46, reflected on their ‘90s relationship.

The She’s All That star revealed that Strong was “romantic” and “so deep” during their time together, and admitted that in hindsight she “didn’t understand him” as well as Fishel did.

“Rider’s the most poetic soul,” Cook said. “I remember this moment he had like, come to visit me in Italy, and there was this, like, field of sunflowers on the way to where we’re going.”

Cook explained that Strong, 46, decided on the spur of the moment to tell the driver to make a pitstop so the couple could run through the sunflowers together.

“He tells the driver, ‘Stop the car.’ And he looks at me and I’m like, ‘Oh no, what are we doing?’” Cook recalled. “We have to run into these flowers, like, really, spikey-looking flowers, like a movie.”

The actress noted that the experience made her realize that their personalities weren’t necessarily aligned enough for the relationship to be sustainable.

“I knew in that moment, like, I’m not, I’m not the person, what he’s ultimately gonna need,” she said. “And I tried, we got a little way into that field, and I was just like, ‘I don’t know about this.’”

The Josie and the Pussycat Dolls star also shared one of Strong’s past confessions to her.

“I remember one time he said to me, like, ‘If you weren’t with me, you know, who would you want to be with?” Cook recalled, explaining that she had responded with the name of her ex-boyfriend.

Cook then told Fishel, 44, that when she asked Strong the same question, he answered, “Danielle.”

Fishel has previously been candid about her crush on Strong while they acted together on Boy Meets World – which took place during the same time period that Strong was dating Cook.

Fishel first revealed her former feelings for her costar during an August 2022 episode of their podcast “Pod Meets World.”

“He was so smart, and … one of my favorite things about Rider — and it continues to this day — [is that] Rider is very effusive,” she said of what initially drew her to Strong.. “He will tell you how he feels and he’s very free with his compliments, but he doesn’t throw them out willy-nilly. When he compliments you, it is thoughtful, it has meaning, and you can tell it’s coming from a very real place.”

In an October 2023 episode of the podcast, Fishel read a passage from her teenage diary written in the ’90s, which detailed her jealousy over Cook and Strong’s relationship.

“Then we went to acting class but we had to wait for Rachael,” Fishel recounted, pointing out that the word “Rachael” was underlined in annoyance. “Then Rider and Rachael got all lovey-dovey, and it made me want to puke. Then they kissed, and it looked so cute. She’s actually really sweet and cool, but I really like Rider. I don’t think she’s right for him. Then again, maybe I’m not either.”

There aren’t many shows where every episode can be its own starting point. This is especially true of major franchises, which tend to attract audiences by their connections to other projects, but Star Wars: Visions defies those expectations. With three seasons’ worth of shorts, the series is a unique entry into the Star Wars universe, and because of that, it is also one of the franchise’s best shows.

Star Wars: Visions is an ambitious project, as the three-season anthology explores everything from the distant past to the far future. However, it allows for interesting world-building that no other Star Wars show can achieve. While it may seem confusing at first, Star Wars: Visions has a major advantage over other series in the franchise since it only requires a basic understanding of Star Wars, making it accessible to new viewers and dedicated fans alike. The beautiful artwork and individual styles of various international studios allow Star Wars: Visions to stand out, even in the ever-growing list of Star Wars content. Ultimately, Star Wars: Visions is an easy commitment, with no required viewing order and plenty of fascinating stories to choose from as a starting point.

‘Star Wars: Visions’ Explores Every Part of the Galaxy

Star Wars: Visions consistently expands the galaxy with storylines that introduce new planets and timelines. While the anthology series isn’t technically canon, it never defies what already exists, fitting within established continuity to provide a more thorough understanding of the world. It also expands the timeline, with episodes like “The Twins” set after the events of the Sequel Trilogy, while others, like “The Elder,” take place before any established story. Star Wars: Visions isn’t banished to the fringes of the galaxy either; some episodes even take place in familiar settings, such as “Tatooine Rhapsody,” which is on the Skywalkers’ home planet during the reign of the Empire. By exploring the Jedi and Sith, parent-child relationships, and more, Star Wars: Visions honors the beloved stories fans already know while offering a different perspective.

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The vision is clear for this anime series!

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‘Star Wars: Visions’ Has a Rich and Diverse World of Animation Styles

Star Wars: Visions‘ greatest strength is its range of animation styles, thanks to different anime studios working on each short. The overall concept of the series is to present Star Wars “through the lens of the world’s best anime creators,” and it does exactly that, though Season 2 expands to animation studios around the world. The experimental style allows each episode of Star Wars: Visions to truly be a unique work of art.

Additionally, this stunning and unique approach to the franchise enables the series to incorporate influences from other cultures into the Star Wars universe. With samurai-inspired stories like “The Duel,” influences from Irish folklore in “Screecher’s Reach,” a tribute to famous Spanish painters in “Sith,” and more, Star Wars: Visions is truly a global series where no two episodes are alike.

‘Star Wars: Visions’ Is an Accessible Answer to Franchise Fatigue

Image via Disney+

Among the many things to love about Star Wars: Visions is its low bar for entry, as the show doesn’t require the viewer to be an expert in franchise lore. In a world where too many series don’t make sense without being up to date on every project that came before, Star Wars: Visions is easy to digest. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how these shorts fit in the overall timeline, as they can all stand on their own, which takes the pressure off and allows viewers to simply enjoy the stories in their own right.

More uniquely, fans can begin with whatever story interests them most. Of course, there is a specific release order, but it’s easy to skip around or watch particular episodes without the context of others. This comes with a small caveat, as Season 3 does revisit the stories of three Season 1 episodes with sequels to “The Duel,” “The Ninth Jedi,” and “The Village Bride.” However, while these follow-ups build on characters from earlier in the series, their stories also work as standalone adventures. There is no show quite like Star Wars: Visions, making it a can’t-miss addition to the Star Wars universe.

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Release Date

September 22, 2021

Network

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Disney+

Franchise(s)

Star Wars

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[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Project Hail Mary.]

Much like the visionary directors behind Project Hail Mary, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, audiences have seen the powerful collaboration between author Andy Weir and screenwriter Drew Goddard on screen, even before critics began raving about Ryan Gosling‘s breathtaking space mission. In 2015, their first seven-time Academy Award-nominated alliance on The Martian showed audiences what could be done with a whip-smart script and the guts to put it to screen, and they’re ready to recreate that magic again.

Project Hail Mary is topping the charts with Gosling starring as Ryland Grace, a middle school teacher on a mission to save worlds with his cohort, a rock being and engineer Grace affectionately dubs “Rocky” (James Ortiz). The movie also stars Oscar nominee Sandra Hüller, The Bear‘s Lionel Boyce, Milana Vayntrub, and Ken Leung.​​

In this interview with Steve Weintraub, Weir and Goddard discuss their interest in a third team-up, how Gosling got involved with the project, and Weir’s approach to writing epic science fiction. Goddard shares the biggest lessons learned while working on The Martian, the pair discuss why Project Hail Mary‘s on-screen ending had to have minor adjustments, and tease what’s next for them.

Andy Weir and Drew Goddard Talk Future Team-Ups

“We’d be happy to just keep cranking ‘em out.”

Image via Amazon MGM

COLLIDER: After watching The Martian and now watching Project Hail Mary: You two need to do more together.

ANDY WEIR: That works for me

DREW GODDARD: We agree.

More. And it needs to be more than every 17 years.

GODDARD: Absolutely. From your mouth to God’s ears. Yes.

WEIR: All you’ve got to do is make sure studios are willing to give us, like, $150, $200 million to make a movie, and we’d be happy to just keep cranking ‘em out.

GODDARD: Also, you need to keep writing faster.

WEIR: I need to write faster.

GODDARD: But then again, I’m not the fastest either. [Laughs]

WEIR: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we waited for him. We had to wait months for him. We weren’t interested in having any other screenwriter do this, so we actually just held up the project because he was busy on something else. Our list of potential screenwriters was one: Drew Goddard.

GODDARD: Thank god they waited.

I say again, thank you. I really mean this when I say the movie is spectacular, and in IMAX, it’s just incredible.

WEIR: Spectacularer?

The IMAX experience, when it goes full frame, is really just like, “My god, this is why I go to the movie theater.”

GODDARD: Honestly, I hadn’t seen the finished version until last week at the full IMAX. I’ve watched this movie hundreds of times at this point, and I felt like I was seeing it for the first time. It’s stunning. You just see the majesty of what Chris [Miller] and Phil [Lord] were able to do. It was a magical experience.

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Ryan Gosling Chose ‘Project Hail Mary’

“That’s even better.”

Image via Amazon MGM Studios

Getting it into real specifics, [Andy], you sent this to Ryan [Gosling] in 2020 and said, “I’d like you to be the star, and I’d like you to produce.”

WEIR: Didn’t quite work that way. I think Ryan approached us. Or I did not personally do any of that. MGM, which at the time was just MGM before Amazon bought them, I think maybe approached talent with it, but Ryan was the one who said, “I want to do this.” So, that’s even better.

When you were writing the book, did you envision a certain actor in mind? How does that work?

WEIR: So there are two things to say on that. First off, I don’t have a very visual imagination, so in my mind, I just see sort of blobs of characters, blobs of this, blobs of that. When I’d finished the book, I couldn’t have told you what color Ryland’s hair was or what color his eyes were or anything like that. When I’m writing a book, and this is advice I give to any writers, you’re writing a book. Don’t think about movie adaptations. Don’t do that. If you want to write a movie, write a screenplay. Go for it. But if you’re writing a book, take advantage of the enormous space and infinite canvas you have on the book. Don’t try to think about things in terms of a potential adaptation.

What did you learn making The Martian in terms of the screenplay that you took with you to this, that sort of helped give you confidence in certain scenes? What were those big lessons learned?

GODDARD: I think the biggest lesson from The Martian was we learned from the audience that you don’t need to dumb it down. In fact, the audience likes it when you speak up to them, when you assume they’re smart enough to figure it out. That just gave us strength. Because I think you have this natural feeling of, “Well, we need to make sure everything gets explained,” and we learned it’s okay if you don’t understand everything, because audiences prefer that, because then they can learn. People love to learn, right? It’s part of the movie. This movie is a celebration of teaching, and it’s like, “Don’t be afraid. Just put it out there, and the audience will come to it.”

Andy Weir and Drew Goddard Fought to Keep ‘Project Hail Mary’s Ending Intact

“Thank God they did.”

With the ending of the book, was it always that ending, and how did you come to that? There are slight changes in the movie ending, so how did you determine what you wanted to do?

WEIR: Well, for writing the book, I knew what the last scene was going to be before I wrote the first words. I absolutely knew that’s how the book was going to end. There was never any other option in my mind. That is exactly how I wanted it to end. As for the film adaptation, I don’t know how spoilery we’ve been getting, but I think it’s exactly the same.

GODDARD: There are some minor differences, for sure.

It’s very, very close.

WEIR: Very minor.

GODDARD: It’s funny because there are like four scenes in the book that I was like, “Oh, I’ve never seen anything like this. This is why I want to do this.” The ending is definitely one of them. I also knew this was going to take some fights. People are not going to want this because people get scared when anything’s different, right? So we had to sort of gently remind our studios along the way of why this ending was so special and powerful. I think they did come around, and thank god they did. But any changes that were within it were to maximize the effect of the ending.

You’re making this on a budget, obviously, and you have a lot of money, but it’s never enough. So when you’re writing the screenplay, how cognizant are you in terms of budget?

GODDARD: It’s always in the back of my head because I want to make sure we can do it. The problem is that Chris and Phil are so visionary, and they come from animation, so they always figure they can figure it out. They always do. So, I think that push-pull between us led to what is on the screen. I cannot say enough about the visuals they put on the screen. I was there, and I still don’t know how human beings did it.

Image via Amazon MGM Studios

I said to Chris and Phil that they need to make more live-action movies. They’re incredibly talented.

GODDARD: Without question.

I obviously have to ask you as a fan, what are you currently writing or thinking about? Are you writing something that is not being talked about? What’s going on?

WEIR: I’m working on my next book now. I’m not talking about it publicly. I can tell you it’s science fiction, and it’s another standalone story. It’s not a sequel to anything I’ve written.

How long ago did you start writing?

WEIR: Well, this one I probably started about a year ago, and it hasn’t been going very fast because of a combination of duties on the Project Hail Mary film and having a toddler. So, those two things. [Laughs]

GODDARD: It does slow things down.

WEIR: It slows things down. [Laughs]

What else are you working on this year?

GODDARD: Right now, it is all Hail Mary all the time, so I am excited for this movie to come out.

Project Hail Mary is in theaters and IMAX now.

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Release Date

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March 20, 2026

Runtime

156 Minutes

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Director

Christopher Miller, Phil Lord

Writers

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Drew Goddard, Andy Weir

Producers

Ryan Gosling, Amy Pascal, Andy Weir, Aditya Sood, Christopher Miller, Phil Lord, Rachel O’Connor

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