Marvel continues to expand its universe on Disney Plus. Variety reports that the studio has tapped Chinaka Hodge to serve as head writer on the upcoming Ironheart series. The Ironheart series will follow the character of Riri Williams, who was created by Marvel comics in 2015. Williams is a genius inventor who creates the most advanced suit of armor since Tony Stark's Iron Man. Dominique Thorne will star in the series. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/21/spider-man-will-finally-come-to-disney-plus-with-new-deal-ign-news"] Hodge's previous television credits include Apple's reboot of Amazing Stories and TNT's adaptation of Snowpiercer starring Daveed Diggs. She and Diggs were founding members of the hip hop collective The Getback. She has also published two books of poetry, For Girls with Hips: Collected Poems and Writings and Dated Emcees, as well as several plays. With Hodge joining the project, Ironheart becomes the latest of several Marvel Disney Plus series being developed by women of color. Ms. Marvel will premiere on the streamer sometime later in 2021. Bisha K. Ali serves as series creator and newcomer Iman Vellani will star as Kamala Khan, the MCU's first Muslim superhero. Additionally, a She-Hulk series starring Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters is in development with Tim Roth set to reprise his role as the Abomination. Jessica Gao will serve as showrunner. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvels-ironheart-explained&captions=true"] Though Marvel has big plans for Disney Plus in the future, the studio has only just begun to release series on the platform. Both WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier wrapped their runs earlier this year. Tom Hiddleston's Loki is set to premiere its first of six episodes on June 11. Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye will also return in a Disney Plus series later this year. [poilib element="accentDivider"] J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.

Marvel continues to expand its universe on Disney Plus. Variety reports that the studio has tapped Chinaka Hodge to serve as head writer on the upcoming Ironheart series. The Ironheart series will follow the character of Riri Williams, who was created by Marvel comics in 2015. Williams is a genius inventor who creates the most advanced suit of armor since Tony Stark's Iron Man. Dominique Thorne will star in the series. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/21/spider-man-will-finally-come-to-disney-plus-with-new-deal-ign-news"] Hodge's previous television credits include Apple's reboot of Amazing Stories and TNT's adaptation of Snowpiercer starring Daveed Diggs. She and Diggs were founding members of the hip hop collective The Getback. She has also published two books of poetry, For Girls with Hips: Collected Poems and Writings and Dated Emcees, as well as several plays. With Hodge joining the project, Ironheart becomes the latest of several Marvel Disney Plus series being developed by women of color. Ms. Marvel will premiere on the streamer sometime later in 2021. Bisha K. Ali serves as series creator and newcomer Iman Vellani will star as Kamala Khan, the MCU's first Muslim superhero. Additionally, a She-Hulk series starring Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters is in development with Tim Roth set to reprise his role as the Abomination. Jessica Gao will serve as showrunner. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvels-ironheart-explained&captions=true"] Though Marvel has big plans for Disney Plus in the future, the studio has only just begun to release series on the platform. Both WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier wrapped their runs earlier this year. Tom Hiddleston's Loki is set to premiere its first of six episodes on June 11. Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye will also return in a Disney Plus series later this year. [poilib element="accentDivider"] J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.

Underwater volcanoes could generate enough power for the entire United States, but the explosions aren't consistent enough, or easy enough to track, to make actually doing so possible. This news comes by way of a recent study published by Nature Communications centered around a team of scientists who hypothesized the magnitude of volcanic explosions happening underwater, as reported by Syfy. Scientists, civilizations, and just about anyone who's ever seen a volcanic eruption happen on land know how powerful this natural phenomenon is. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=gorgeous-photos-of-earth-from-space&captions=true"] Scientists have long pondered, however, the actual power of volcanoes erupting underwater. These volcanoes explode much in the same way that volcanoes above sea do, shooting ash high into the sky, err, ocean, but unlike those on land, underwater volcanoes also create superheated water cyclones called megaplumes. The amount of power generated by these underwater eruptions is a lot – that much is known by scientists, but how to harness said power has remained a mystery. That's because despite how much scientists know about these eruptions, they still happen far too infrequently and randomly to gather enough information to know definitively. Two of the scientists behind the Nature Communications study, Samuel Pegler and David Ferguson of the University of Leeds, used "direct observations and mathematical computations to navigate around the fact that there's such an absence of data." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=google-earth-timelapse-1985-vs-2020&captions=true"] The duo studied the Northeast Pacific's Northern Escanaba's lava flow from 2009 to understand how an underwater volcano like the NESCA works. The NESCA volcano vent "heats up seawater into violent torrents that can whisk volcanic rock particles called 'tephra' up to three miles away from the eruption site," according to Syfy. Pegler and Ferguson used this data to create a simulation to estimate the magnitude of this underwater volcano. Based on this simulation, the two learned that an underwater volcanic eruption has a high enough magnitude of power to power the U.S. "Our results constrain the rate of energy release (or power) and show that during the eruption, the power output is sufficient to run the U.S. for that period of time, probably on the order of hours/days (however long it lasts — we don't know precisely)," Ferguson told Vice when asked about the study. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/30/scientists-revive-100-million-year-old-lifeforms-ign-now"] He also told the publication that "there is effectively zero chance of capturing the energy for all sorts of reasons," including the fact that nobody knows when or where these underwater eruptions will take place, not to mention actually gaining access to the volcano's eruption. Ferguson says the point of this simulation and their findings is to "illustrate how powerful/energetic these things are." Beyond the sheer power of these underwater volcanoes, the duo also used their study to learn more about how "deep sea hydrothermal systems" might be candidates for the origin of life on Earth, Ferguson said. He said "extremophile" deep ocean life is sustained by the energy and chemicals supplied by magmatic and volcanic activity associated with underwater volcanoes. "The most likely mechanism that these thermophilic (heat-loving) microbes are dispersed to other sites is in megaplumes," Ferguson said. "Our results suggest that this process is likely to be mediated by volcanic activity. There is also the interesting conjecture that many biologists consider deep sea hydrothermal systems as good candidates for the origin of life on Earth." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-sci-fi-movies&captions=true"] Not only are underwater volcanoes powerful enough to power the entire U.S., but they might also be the original site for the beginning of life on Earth. For more about volcanoes, check out this story about a planet discovered by scientists that's basically Darth Vader's lava homeworld, Mustafar, and then read IGN's list of the greatest movie volcanoes. Check out this story about the discovery of water on the surface of the Moon after that and then ponder if the Moon is hiding some underwater volcanoes — "underwater moon volcanoes" has a nice ring to it, after all. Image Credit: AFP/Getty Images [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer, guide maker, and science guru for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

Underwater volcanoes could generate enough power for the entire United States, but the explosions aren't consistent enough, or easy enough to track, to make actually doing so possible. This news comes by way of a recent study published by Nature Communications centered around a team of scientists who hypothesized the magnitude of volcanic explosions happening underwater, as reported by Syfy. Scientists, civilizations, and just about anyone who's ever seen a volcanic eruption happen on land know how powerful this natural phenomenon is. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=gorgeous-photos-of-earth-from-space&captions=true"] Scientists have long pondered, however, the actual power of volcanoes erupting underwater. These volcanoes explode much in the same way that volcanoes above sea do, shooting ash high into the sky, err, ocean, but unlike those on land, underwater volcanoes also create superheated water cyclones called megaplumes. The amount of power generated by these underwater eruptions is a lot – that much is known by scientists, but how to harness said power has remained a mystery. That's because despite how much scientists know about these eruptions, they still happen far too infrequently and randomly to gather enough information to know definitively. Two of the scientists behind the Nature Communications study, Samuel Pegler and David Ferguson of the University of Leeds, used "direct observations and mathematical computations to navigate around the fact that there's such an absence of data." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=google-earth-timelapse-1985-vs-2020&captions=true"] The duo studied the Northeast Pacific's Northern Escanaba's lava flow from 2009 to understand how an underwater volcano like the NESCA works. The NESCA volcano vent "heats up seawater into violent torrents that can whisk volcanic rock particles called 'tephra' up to three miles away from the eruption site," according to Syfy. Pegler and Ferguson used this data to create a simulation to estimate the magnitude of this underwater volcano. Based on this simulation, the two learned that an underwater volcanic eruption has a high enough magnitude of power to power the U.S. "Our results constrain the rate of energy release (or power) and show that during the eruption, the power output is sufficient to run the U.S. for that period of time, probably on the order of hours/days (however long it lasts — we don't know precisely)," Ferguson told Vice when asked about the study. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/30/scientists-revive-100-million-year-old-lifeforms-ign-now"] He also told the publication that "there is effectively zero chance of capturing the energy for all sorts of reasons," including the fact that nobody knows when or where these underwater eruptions will take place, not to mention actually gaining access to the volcano's eruption. Ferguson says the point of this simulation and their findings is to "illustrate how powerful/energetic these things are." Beyond the sheer power of these underwater volcanoes, the duo also used their study to learn more about how "deep sea hydrothermal systems" might be candidates for the origin of life on Earth, Ferguson said. He said "extremophile" deep ocean life is sustained by the energy and chemicals supplied by magmatic and volcanic activity associated with underwater volcanoes. "The most likely mechanism that these thermophilic (heat-loving) microbes are dispersed to other sites is in megaplumes," Ferguson said. "Our results suggest that this process is likely to be mediated by volcanic activity. There is also the interesting conjecture that many biologists consider deep sea hydrothermal systems as good candidates for the origin of life on Earth." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-sci-fi-movies&captions=true"] Not only are underwater volcanoes powerful enough to power the entire U.S., but they might also be the original site for the beginning of life on Earth. For more about volcanoes, check out this story about a planet discovered by scientists that's basically Darth Vader's lava homeworld, Mustafar, and then read IGN's list of the greatest movie volcanoes. Check out this story about the discovery of water on the surface of the Moon after that and then ponder if the Moon is hiding some underwater volcanoes — "underwater moon volcanoes" has a nice ring to it, after all. Image Credit: AFP/Getty Images [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer, guide maker, and science guru for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

A free demo for Miitopia is now available on Nintendo Switch, and it will even let you transfer your save data to the full version if you choose to purchase it. Announced on Twitter, Nintendo revealed that all Switch owners can now download this free trial of Miitopia - which will be released on May 21 - to "begin your comedy-filled adventure to bring down the Dark Lord today!" [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/27/21-minutes-of-miitopia-nintendo-switch-demo-gameplay"] Originally released on the Nintendo 3DS in 2017, Miitopia is a RPG where characters based on players' Miis go on fantasy-style adventures, battle enemies, travel to different worlds, build homes, make relationships, and much more. Many of the characters in Miitopia can be cast as Miis that you have created, including the Dark Lord himself. This means you can bring your friends, family, favorite celebrities, and much more into the game. The Switch version of Miitopia adds such new features as "an adorable horse pal, wigs and makeup, and more." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=miitopia-switch-reveal-screens&captions=true"] Miitopia also has amiibo support, and characters like Mario, Link, Isabelle, and Inklings will unlock their respective Mii character outfits. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

A free demo for Miitopia is now available on Nintendo Switch, and it will even let you transfer your save data to the full version if you choose to purchase it. Announced on Twitter, Nintendo revealed that all Switch owners can now download this free trial of Miitopia - which will be released on May 21 - to "begin your comedy-filled adventure to bring down the Dark Lord today!" [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/27/21-minutes-of-miitopia-nintendo-switch-demo-gameplay"] Originally released on the Nintendo 3DS in 2017, Miitopia is a RPG where characters based on players' Miis go on fantasy-style adventures, battle enemies, travel to different worlds, build homes, make relationships, and much more. Many of the characters in Miitopia can be cast as Miis that you have created, including the Dark Lord himself. This means you can bring your friends, family, favorite celebrities, and much more into the game. The Switch version of Miitopia adds such new features as "an adorable horse pal, wigs and makeup, and more." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=miitopia-switch-reveal-screens&captions=true"] Miitopia also has amiibo support, and characters like Mario, Link, Isabelle, and Inklings will unlock their respective Mii character outfits. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Sailor Moon fans, Netflix has some big news: Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie Part 1 & 2 will be available to stream globally outside of Japan beginning June 3rd. The release date was revealed alongside a new teaser trailer. The film, which is based on the "Dream Arc" saga in the original manga series, was released in Japan earlier this year. Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal focuses on "the Sailor Guardian's growth, both as teenage girls and as Sailor Guardians, as well as the faint first love of Chibi-Usa and Helios," according to Netflix. This adventure takes place in Springtime Tokyo when the cherry blossoms are in bloom, and the city is preparing to celebrate the century's largest Total Solar Eclipse. When the eclipse begins, Usagi and Chibi-Usa encounter Pegasus, who is "in search of the chosen Maiden who can break the seal of the Golden Crystal." While all of this is playing out, a mysterious, ominous troupe called the Dead Moon Circus appears. Their "plan is to scatter the nightmare incarnations known as Lemures, seize the ‘Legendary Silver Crystal,’ rule over the moon and the earth, and eventually dominate the entire universe," Netflix's description reads. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=top-25-best-anime-series-of-all-time&captions=true"] Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon was created by Naoko Takeuchi and was first serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine 'Nakayosi' in December 1991. For more on Sailor Moon, check out how you can watch the first three seasons of the '90s anime for free and where it ranks on our list of the Top 25 Best Anime Series of All Time. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Sailor Moon fans, Netflix has some big news: Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie Part 1 & 2 will be available to stream globally outside of Japan beginning June 3rd. The release date was revealed alongside a new teaser trailer. The film, which is based on the "Dream Arc" saga in the original manga series, was released in Japan earlier this year. Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal focuses on "the Sailor Guardian's growth, both as teenage girls and as Sailor Guardians, as well as the faint first love of Chibi-Usa and Helios," according to Netflix. This adventure takes place in Springtime Tokyo when the cherry blossoms are in bloom, and the city is preparing to celebrate the century's largest Total Solar Eclipse. When the eclipse begins, Usagi and Chibi-Usa encounter Pegasus, who is "in search of the chosen Maiden who can break the seal of the Golden Crystal." While all of this is playing out, a mysterious, ominous troupe called the Dead Moon Circus appears. Their "plan is to scatter the nightmare incarnations known as Lemures, seize the ‘Legendary Silver Crystal,’ rule over the moon and the earth, and eventually dominate the entire universe," Netflix's description reads. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=top-25-best-anime-series-of-all-time&captions=true"] Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon was created by Naoko Takeuchi and was first serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine 'Nakayosi' in December 1991. For more on Sailor Moon, check out how you can watch the first three seasons of the '90s anime for free and where it ranks on our list of the Top 25 Best Anime Series of All Time. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Though the box office is beginning to rebuild in the United States, some upcoming releases are still migrating to streaming platforms. Vivo, a new animated movie featuring music written by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, will forgo its originally planned theatrical release and debut on Netflix, per Deadline. Sony Pictures had originally scheduled Vivo to hit theaters on June 4. Now, the studio has offloaded the release to Netflix. There has been no announcement on an updated release date. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/12/15/lin-manuel-miranda-takes-the-disney-song-challenge"] The film follows Vivo, a kinkajou aka a rainforest "honey bear," voiced by Miranda, who plays music in a Havana with his owner Andrés. After Andrés is invited to his former partner's farewell concert, Vivo embarks on an adventure to deliver the woman a love letter from his owner in the form of a song. The voice cast also includes. Zoe Saldana, Brian Tyree Henry, and Nicole Byer. Vivo is helmed by The Croods director Kirk DeMicco and co-directed by Brandon Jeffords. “Bringing Vivo to life has been an incredible artistic journey,” Miranda said. “I’m so excited Vivo will have a home at Netflix, where kids of all ages will be able to enjoy the film’s songs and adventures again and again.” Earlier this month, Sony signed a multi-year deal with Netflix, giving the streaming service the first run of Sony's theatrically released films as well as first-look rights at content Sony is producing or licensing for streaming platforms. However, Vivo is not a part of this deal, as the agreement doesn't come into effect until 2022. Vivo represents the latest example of Netflix's effort to bolster its collection of animated films.The streaming service acquired The Mitchells vs The Machines from Sony Pictures in January. The Phil Lord and Chris Miller-produced film will premiere on the streamer this Friday, April 30, after it began a limited theatrical run on April 23. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=2021-movies-preview&captions=true"] Though Vivo will no longer hit theaters, audiences will still be able to see a different Miranda musical on the big screen this summer. In the Heights, an adaptation of Miranda's first Broadway show, will debut in theaters and on HBO Max on June 11. [poilib element="accentDivider"] J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Though the box office is beginning to rebuild in the United States, some upcoming releases are still migrating to streaming platforms. Vivo, a new animated movie featuring music written by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, will forgo its originally planned theatrical release and debut on Netflix, per Deadline. Sony Pictures had originally scheduled Vivo to hit theaters on June 4. Now, the studio has offloaded the release to Netflix. There has been no announcement on an updated release date. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/12/15/lin-manuel-miranda-takes-the-disney-song-challenge"] The film follows Vivo, a kinkajou aka a rainforest "honey bear," voiced by Miranda, who plays music in a Havana with his owner Andrés. After Andrés is invited to his former partner's farewell concert, Vivo embarks on an adventure to deliver the woman a love letter from his owner in the form of a song. The voice cast also includes. Zoe Saldana, Brian Tyree Henry, and Nicole Byer. Vivo is helmed by The Croods director Kirk DeMicco and co-directed by Brandon Jeffords. “Bringing Vivo to life has been an incredible artistic journey,” Miranda said. “I’m so excited Vivo will have a home at Netflix, where kids of all ages will be able to enjoy the film’s songs and adventures again and again.” Earlier this month, Sony signed a multi-year deal with Netflix, giving the streaming service the first run of Sony's theatrically released films as well as first-look rights at content Sony is producing or licensing for streaming platforms. However, Vivo is not a part of this deal, as the agreement doesn't come into effect until 2022. Vivo represents the latest example of Netflix's effort to bolster its collection of animated films.The streaming service acquired The Mitchells vs The Machines from Sony Pictures in January. The Phil Lord and Chris Miller-produced film will premiere on the streamer this Friday, April 30, after it began a limited theatrical run on April 23. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=2021-movies-preview&captions=true"] Though Vivo will no longer hit theaters, audiences will still be able to see a different Miranda musical on the big screen this summer. In the Heights, an adaptation of Miranda's first Broadway show, will debut in theaters and on HBO Max on June 11. [poilib element="accentDivider"] J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)