Empire Magazine has shared a new promo still for Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps, giving us another look at H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot.
Several different H.E.R.B.I.E. props were used to bring the little fella to life, including a wooden puppet stand-in and a full animatronic controlled by four people (CGI was also utlized).
"He’s absolutely as important and as alive as any other member of the cast,” director Matt Shakman tells the site. “He’s sometimes a slightly put-upon robot, but he is definitely a member of the family. He’s just so charming and adorable. He is really Reed’s right hand in the lab, capable of assisting him on any sort of experiment, always by his side, whether in New York City or out in space.”
Empire also reveals who will provide the voice of H.E.R.B.I.E. in the movie, and it is not Natasha Lyonne as many had speculated, but Matthew Wood, who played the villainous cyborg General Grievous in the Star Wars prequels.
“He’s charming, he’s funny — but he also will break your heart,” promises Shakman. “Which I hope is emblematic of the movie.”
First Steps stars Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us, Freaky Tales) as Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby (Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning) as Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things, A Quiet Place Day One) as Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Punisher, The Bear) as Ben Grimm, aka the Thing.
Paul Walter Hauser and John Malkovich are also on board in undisclosed roles.
Kevin Feige has confirmed that the movie will take place in an alternate universe, but we know that Marvel's First Family will appear in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, so we wouldn't be surprised if they find their way into the main MCU timeline by the end of this movie.
Spoilers follow.
We actually see the team arriving to the main 616 universe in Thunderbolts' post-credits scene.
"Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they face their most daunting challenge yet.
Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal."
Matt Shakman directs The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which is set to hit theaters on July 25, 2025.