Patrick Stewart has finally confirmed the semi-obvious: That he's in the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness trailer that premiered during the Super Bowl.

Speaking to YouTube channel Jake's Takes, Stewart confirmed it was indeed his voice that Doctor Strange hears upon being escorted into an ominous-looking hall.

"I actually didn't recognize my own voice, it sounded different. Whether I had a cold or something at the time, I don't know,” the actor said. “But I was astonished — and all they saw was the back of my shoulder and I think my earlobe, nothing else — that there would have been so many connections made. It pleased me.”

Stewart can be heard saying "we should tell him the truth" in the trailer, suggesting his X-Men character Professor Charles Xavier will have some role to play in Strange's journey through the multiverse. It also signals a greater potential crossover between the MCU and the X-Men, which Disney now owns following the acquisition of 20th Century Fox.

This all comes a mere week after Stewart claimed that his voice in the trailer was supposedly an impersonation, chilling rumors that Professor X would make an appearance. That appears to have been yet another example of actors lying about their roles in movies.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is out in theaters on May 6, and promises to see quite a few returning faces, including Chiwetel Ejiofor's Mordo, Rachel McAdams' Christine Palmer, Elizabeth Olson's Wanda Maximoff, and Benedict Wong. Xochitl Gomez stars as America Chavez, a member of the Young Avengers (in the comics anyway) with the ability to punch star-shaped holes in the fabric of reality.

In the meantime, read why Kevin Feige thinks Doctor Strange is the anchor of the Marvel universe, or what one of the Russo brothers thinks of Disney's ability to surprise comic fans.

(Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images)

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

Ever since the first Tyrannosaurus skeleton was put on display in 1905, the tyrant lizard has captivated the world. Now, researchers say that the Tyrannosaurus may have actually developed into three distinct species beyond just the infamous Tyrannosaurus Rex.

A team of three researchers led by paleontologist Gregory Paul said on Monday that variations of about three dozen fossils indicated that two additional species deserved recognition. Paul and the fellow researchers dubbed these two new species Tyrannosaurus Imperator and Tyrannosaurus Regina.

"After over a century of all specimens being placed into one species without the issue being carefully examined, the first and only analysis finds that the variation in Tyrannosaurus is beyond the norms for dinosaurs, and is distributed over time in a manner that indicates that Darwinian speciation from one (species) to two new species had occurred before the final dinosaur extinction cut off further evolution," Paul said in an abstract published to Evolutionary Biology, first reported by Reuters.

Paul cited differences in size and shape of several features: Femurs, thighbones, and the number of small teeth in the lower tip of the jaw.

Some researchers, however, disagree with Paul and his partners' findings.

"Ultimately, to me, this variation is very minor and not indicative of meaningful biological separation of distinct species that can be defined based on clear, explicit, consistent differences," University of Edinburgh paleontologist Steve Brusatte said. "It's hard to define a species, even for animals today, and these fossils have no genetic evidence that can test whether there were truly separate populations."

If accepted as true, Paul's new findings would indicate that Sue, a Tyrannosaurus skeleton exhibited at Chicago's Field Museum, is actually a T-Imperator rather than a T-Rex. Sue stands more than 40 feet long and 13 feet wide, making it the largest Tyrannosaurus specimen ever discovered, as well as the most complete assembly of Tyrannosaurus fossils.

Another paleontologist by the name of Thomas Carr, who published a 2020 study finding no species variation in the Tyrannosaurus, similarly disagreed with Paul's findings.

"Perhaps most damning is the fact that the authors were unable to refer several excellent skulls to any of the three species," Carr said. "If their species are valid, then more than just two features should identify them: nearly every detail — especially in the head — should be different."

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

NASA has announced funding for research into 17 science fiction-esque projects aimed to advance the possibilities of space exploration, including drones to explore Venus, asteroid destroying technology, and more.

The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) programme is funding 12 brand new and five ongoing projects.

The 12 new projects that have received funding are below:

• Cryospheric Rydberg Radar, a new type of quantum radar that could theoretically be used in virtually every setting.
• Silent, Solid-State Propulsion for Advanced Air Mobility Vehicles, designed to get around the field's biggest obstacle of community opposition to noise.
• Combined Heat Shield and Solar Thermal Propulsion System for an Oberth Manuever, a spacecraft that uses solar light to travel at unprecedented speeds.
• CREW HaT: Cosmic Radiation Extended Warding using the Halbach Torus, a device that produces a magnetic field to protect astronauts from radiation in space.
• The Spacesuit Digital Thread: 4.0, which scans astronauts and creates custom spacesuits for them using the carbon-dioxide rich atmosphere on Mars.
• Breathing Mars Air: Stationary and Portable O2 Generation, a device used to generate oxygen from the Mars atmosphere ten times more effectively than current technology.
• Pi - Terminal Defense for Humanity – essentially an asteroid destroyer.
• Hybrid Observatory for Earth-like Exoplanets (HOEE), a football field-sized starshade used to block glare from stars, allowing telescopes to see further.
• In-situ Neutral-Optics Velocity Analyzer for Thermospheric Exploration (INOVATE), a spacecraft swarm used to study space weather.
• Starburst: A Revolutionary Under-Constrained Adaptable Deployable Structure Architecture, a satellite used to analyse storms on Earth (and predict when they're coming).
• Venus Atmosphere and Cloud Particle Sample Return for Astrobiology, a study aiming to detect life on Venus by capturing samples of gas and clouds before returning to earth.
• SCOPE: ScienceCraft for Outer Planet Exploration, a spacecraft that uses solar sails to go further into deep space than previously possible.

These 12 projects are all in Phase 1 of funding, meaning they're brand new ideas being researched over the next nine months, with $175,000 awarded. Five projects have also been funded for Phase 2, research which is further along in development and has been given $600,000 for a two-year period.

The five ongoing projects that have received funding are below:

• BREEZE (Bioinspired Ray for Extreme Environments and Zonal Exploration), bird-like drones used to study Venus's atmosphere and weather patterns (video above).
• Kilometer-Scale Space Structures from a Single Launch, a rotating space habitat with artificial gravity that would remove the health risks of long-duration spaceflight.
• Atomic Planar Power for Lightweight Exploration (APPLE), a new way of using nuclear power for spacecraft.
• ReachBot: Small Robot for Large Mobile Manipulation Tasks in Martian Cave Environments, a small spelunking robot designed to explore subsurface caves on Mars.
• SWIM-Sensing with Independent Micro-swimmers, a swarm of 3D-printed swimming micro-robots that could explore ocean worlds like Enceladus, Europa, and Titan.

Jim Reuter, an associate administrator at NASA, said: "NASA's mission to explore the universe requires new technologies and new ways of doing things. Studying these creative ideas is the first step to turn science fiction into science fact."

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy added: "As we set our sights on ever more challenging destinations for exploration with humans and robots, innovative ideas and future thinking will be critical to helping us reach new milestones.

"Concepts like those being studied with this new round of NIAC funding are helping us expand the scope of the possible so we can make it reality."

The various Venus projects will contribute nicely to NASA's returning interest to Venus, as it announced last year new missions to study the planet for the first time in 30 years that will take place sometime this decade. Soon after, by 2031, NASA plans to crash the International Space Station into the ocean as it's replaced by commercial space stations.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale.

Amazon Luna is now officially available for those in the US. If you're an Amazon Prime member, that means you can jump into the service right now to try it out, at no additional cost.

But it's not all that simple, as there are actually a few different ways to use Amazon Luna, and not all of them are free. Still, if you're a Prime member, feel free to head on over to Prime Gaming to check out the first few games you can stream. Otherwise, stick around while I attempt to unravel the latest cloud gaming service, Amazon Luna.

What is Amazon Luna?

Amazon Luna has been in early access for over a year now, first launching in the US in late 2020 for the select users who opted in. It's now fully available, but for now, it's still just in the US. There's no word on when it will be available elsewhere, but here's everything you need to know about the service now that it's officially available.

Put simply, Luna is a cloud gaming platform that's been split into multiple optional segments, or 'Channels'. Most of these are pay to access, with the exception of one for Prime members. Your choices include the Retro Channel, Family Channel, Jackbox Games Channel, Ubisoft+, Luna+, and finally the Prime Gaming Channel.

Prime Gaming Channel is the most notable out of these, simply because it will offer Amazon Prime members a selection of free games to play on Luna that rotate each month. So you're not getting the full library of games that Luna+ or any of the other channels would offer, but at least it's something.

In March, Prime members will get access to Devil May Cry 5, Observer System Redux, PHOGS!, and Flashback. Immortals Fenyx Rising will also be available to play for free for a limited period from March 8-15 instead of the whole month.

When it comes to the paid selection of channels, you've got a few choices. The Retro Channel, costing $4.99/month, includes classic games like Street Fighter II, Metal Slug 3, and Castlevania Anniversary Collection. Whereas Luna+ includes some newer games like Control Ultimate Edition, Dirt 5, Sonic Mania, Ghostrunner, Call of the Sea, and more. Luna+ cost $5.99/month, and isn't included with Amazon Prime.

Is Amazon Luna Like Google Stadia?

Is some aspects, yes. You're paying a fee and can access a selection of games for no extra cost (like Stadia Pro). But, where it differs is that's the only way you play the games available. You can't purchase anything, and the main bulk of games are simply included in the Luna+ subscription - which is then further serviced by the additional Luna 'Channels'.

The best way to explain is to simply compare it to the Cloud Streaming portion of Game Pass. It's like that, games you can stream via the cloud, but split into different segments depending on your preferences.

If you want to get everything Luna has to offer, you're paying up to $18.96/month, or $36.95 if you include Ubisoft+. But again, it's still worth noting all this is all optional. Essentially, Luna is a pay for what you want cloud streaming service. You don't have to purchase any of the games, and you can cancel at any time.

Where Can You Play Amazon Luna?

Amazon Luna is currently supported to play on PC, Mac, Fire TV, Fire tablet, Chromebook devices and via web browser apps for iPhone, iPad and Android phones.

Amazon states that Luna can play games up to 1080p/60fps. This will heavily depend on what device your using, the quality of internet connection, and the current game you're attempting to stream. Amazon recommends a consistent 10/Mbs as a minimum for streaming at 1080p. If you can, you should also be using your router's 5GHz Wi-Fi band.

It's also worth noting that Luna includes a "Couch Mode". This means you can accept an invite code from a friend to play local multiplayer games like Overcooked 2, even if you aren’t a subscriber.

Amazon's Luna Controller

Similar to Google Stadia, there's a controller to go alongside the cloud gaming service. The Luna controller connects directly to Amazon’s custom game servers, and according to Amazon, this will reduce any latency from 30 to 17 milliseconds (compared to using Bluetooth). But, if you want to, you can still use this controller with Bluetooth on Windows PC, Mac, and Fire TV devices.

It currently costs just under $50 from Amazon directly, down from the initial $70 asking price. You don't need this controller to use Luna, however, and any connectable Bluetooth enabled controller should work on your devices. The only difference is that the corresponding buttons may not match up i.e 'X' and 'A' not matching a PlayStation gamepad.

For more on Amazon or cloud gaming, check out all the games coming to Xbox Game Pass in March (including xCloud), or find out how to avoid paying $139 a year for Amazon Prime.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

A brand-new poster for Jordan Peele’s Nope has given us a confusing glimpse of the upcoming film… and reveals almost nothing.

Still, it puts a fresh spin on the film’s original poster, this time replacing the ominous gas cloud with the image of a horse floating in the air. Or is it being dragged into the sky by a tractor beam?

The image looks as though it depicts a horse being abducted by aliens. With alien plush toys also among the debris being dragged into the sky, it may be our first hint about what exactly is going on in Nope.

At the moment, very little is known about Nope, with Universal keeping the plot of Peele’s upcoming movie firmly under wraps.

But the mysterious project reunites the filmmaker with Oscar-winning actor Daniel Kaluuya, who previously starred in his critically-acclaimed horror, Get Out. And while a recent trailer gives us a hint of what we might expect, there’s little else to go on.

The trailer does reveal that Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer are both part of a Black-run horse farm that trains horses for Hollywood productions. It all seems to be going well, but things soon take a turn for the worse with a glimpse of what could be a UFO.

Not to mention that disturbing shot of a kite line hanging from… whatever it is that’s in the film’s poster.

What does it all mean? For now, we’ll have to wait and see. But Nope is one of our most anticipated horror movies of the year and is due to be released in theaters on July 22, 2022.

Jordan Peele’s Nope stars Daniel Kaluuya, Steven Yeun, and Keke Palmer. Jordan Peele both wrote and directed the project which he also produced alongside Ian Cooper. Robert Graf is also on board as executive producer.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Anime streaming platform Funimation has been folded into one-time rival Crunchyroll to form an anime super-service.

More than 1,600 hours of anime has been added to Crunchyroll at no extra cost, following the merger between the two that completed in August last year. 80% of what Funimation calls its "most popular series" will be available on Crunchyroll by the end of March – that includes My Hero Academia, Tokyo Ghoul, Cowboy Bebop, and much more.

You can see a full list of Funimation shows on Crunchyroll here. Funimation will continue to operate as normal for the time being, but the move makes clear that Crunchyroll will be the main platform going forward, and any new anime starting in spring 2022 will only be available on Crunchyroll. Funimation will only continue to update series already hosted on the service.

The move will also bring Funimation subsidiary Wakanim, and Crunchyroll's VRV into the core Crunchyroll subscription.

CEO Colin Decker said: "When we brought Funimation and Crunchyroll together last year, our top priority was to put fans first. Unifying all of our brands and services under the Crunchyroll brand globally enables us to offer more value than ever before as we combine subs, dubs, simulcasts, library, music, movies, manga—all into one subscription.

"The new Crunchyroll is the realisation of a dream, and we are grateful to the creators of anime and the millions of fans who have joined us in making the community what it is today."

Funimation Premium currently costs $5.99 (£4.99) a month while Crunchyroll starts at $7.99 (£6.50) a month.

Anyone already subscribed to Funimation, Wakanim, or VRV will be offered 60 days of Crunchyroll Premium for free. Current subscribers to the non-Crunchyroll platforms will be emailed within the next few days (from March 1) to be offered the free 60 days.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale.

Disney has announced that the Marvel Netflix shows will be added to the Disney+ library this month. Additionally, the ABC series Agents of SHIELD will also be added to the streaming service.

All of the Netflix live-action Marvel shows will be added to Disney+ on March 16. They are Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Defenders, and The Punisher. Agents of SHIELD will also be added at the same time, meaning Disney+ will be the place to watch almost all of Marvel's live-action output.

With the Netflix shows being mature-rated, Disney+ will also roll out new parental controls in order to help people prevent their children from seeing Kingpin destroy a man's head with a car door, as well as the many other incredibly dark themes and scenes found across this collection of Marvel shows.

All these shows will be available on Disney+ in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. Disney promises the shows will be added to other Disney+ territories later this year.

The live-action Marvel shows first seen on Netflix - often referred to as the Marvel Knights or Defenders shows - are a bit of a mixed bag. They include what is seen as some of the best Marvel live-action stories in Daredevil and Jessica Jones, as well as some of the worst in The Defenders and Iron Fist. While there is much debate around if they are considered MCU canon, the lines have definitely been blurred thanks to Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock appearing in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk featuring in Hawkeye.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.

Nvidia has confirmed that it was recently the victim of a cyberattack, following reports last week that its internal systems were compromised.

In a statement sent to IGN, an Nvidia spokesperson confirmed that on February 23, it was aware of a "cybersecurity incident which impacted IT resources." Nvidia also confirmed that the "threat actor took employee credentials and some Nvidia proprietary information from its systems" and that the hacker or group involved in the attack had begun leaking it online.

Although Nvidia did not disclose what "proprietary information" was stolen, ransomware group LAPSUS$ told our sister site PCMag that it stole 1TB of data, including files detailing Nvidia's hardware and software. Most notably, the group claims that it has files for a GPU driver, which would restore the full Ethereum mining potential in the RTX 30 series of GPUs.

Last May, Nvidia announced that newly manufactured RTX 30 GPUs would be altered by reducing the ETH hash rate, thus making the difficult-to-buy GPUs less desirable to crypto miners. It's important to note that this recent cyberattack has no direct relation to a recent program meant to restore the ETH hash rate on Nvidia RTX 30 and A-series GPUs, which turned out to be malware.

LAPSUS$ told PCMag that Nvidia has not reached out to the group after it demanded the GPU giant pay them in cryptocurrency to ensure the data was not leaked. Nvidia told IGN that it is working on analyzing the information that was stolen and that it does "not anticipate any disruption to [its] business or ability to serve [its] customers as a result of the incident."

Graphics cards, particularly the RTX 30 series, have been desirable for cryptocurrency mining because graphics cards are faster and more powerful than using a processor. GPUs can also perform more calculations and decode different hashes, which allow a higher output on mining for new cryptocurrencies.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin is very happy with how Elden Ring has been received.

Martin published a new blog post saying the reviews for Elden Ring - which have made it one of the best reviewed games in modern history - were "music to the ears".

"The wait is over," the legendary author wrote. "Years in the making, ELDEN RING was released last week, and has been taking the gaming world by storm.

But don’t listen to me. From Software brought me on to do their worldbuilding, so I can hardly pretend to be objective."

Martin went onto point to some examples of almost universally good reviews, and wrote, "And… well, there’s more. Lots more."

Miyazaki previously commented that Martin, who was brought on years ago to develop the world and history of Elden Ring, may be shocked by what became of his characters. But Martin acknowledged that Elden Ring's launch last week took the gaming sphere by storm and congratulated Miyazaki on his achievement.

He said: "Almost all the credit should go to Hidetaka Miyazaki and his astonishing team of games designers who have been labouring on this game for half a decade or more, determined to create the best videogame ever. I am honoured to have met them and worked with them, and to have played a part, however small, in creating this fantastic world and making Elden Ring the landmark megahit that it is."

The two fantasy legends seem equally thrilled to have worked together, as Miyazaki commented recently that working with Martin was like "speaking with an old friend". Miyazaki has also talked about the restraints he put on Martin's contributions, and how they benefited both the writer and the developers.

In our 10/10 review, IGN said: "Elden Ring is a massive iteration on what FromSoftware began with the Souls series, bringing its relentlessly challenging combat to an incredible open world that gives us the freedom to choose our own path."

To make those choices with the best available information, check out our guide that features everything you could ever hope to know about Elden Ring, including collectible locations, boss strategies, and more.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale.

Euphoria is now HBO's second-most watched show, losing out only to the (likely impossible to beat) Game of Thrones.

Per Variety, HBO announced that Euphoria - its Zendaya-led coming-of-age drama - is now averaging 16.3 million viewers per episode. HBO only began measuring viewership in the current fashion in 2004, but by those measures it's the network's second-biggest average viewership.

Euphoria's Season 2 finale aired on February 27 and drew in 6.6 million viewers, while its premiere is currently approaching 19 million viewers. It's also been HBO Max's most popular show for seven weeks straight, and its final episode made it the top title in Europe and Latin America too.

Game of Thrones' final season averaged 44.2 million viewers per episode, so despite Euphoria being incredibly successful, it doesn't quite come close. After all, Game of Thrones was – as IGN said in its finale review – "a true cultural obsession" the likes of which we'll quite possibly never see again.

Discussing the second season of Euphoria, IGN said that its lead character Rue Bennett (played by Zendaya) is a key to draw to the series and lovable because of her humanity, not in spite of it.

HBO Max added a ton of new films and TV shows to its platform last month including the second season of Ridley Scott's Raised By Wolves alongside Steven Soderbergh's Kimi.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale.

Image Credit: Warner Media