The Marvel Cinematic Universe is constantly introducing new characters into the mix, thanks to exciting projects releasing in theaters in and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. With Thunderbolts* making money in theaters, the next upcoming Marvel movie coming down the pipeline is Matt Shakman's The Fantastic Four: First Steps. That director recently hyped up the role of the team's robotic sidekick H.E.R.B.I.E., and I'm so in.
What we know about Fantastic Four: First Steps has been fairly limited, but the limited footage teased a cosmic conflict in a retro setting. There's also been a few adorable moments from H.E.R.B.I.E., a character fans of the comics will know well. In an interview with Empire about the movie, he made clear that the beloved robot is a major presence in the blockbuster. As Shakman shared:
He’s absolutely as important and as alive as any other member of the cast. 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.
Something tells me that H.E.R.B.I.E. might be the biggest scene stealer in First Steps. Disney and Marvel know how to create adorable creatures, which quickly get made into countless pieces of merch. But on top of being an opportunity for that, he'll seemingly have his own personality and be deeply involved in the narrative of the long-awaited blockbuster. Suddenly I'm needing to see more footage.
The cast list of The Fantastic Four: First Steps is stacked, and the actor voicing H.E.R.B.I.E.. The character will be brought to life thanks to Matthew Wood, an accomplished voice actor who has worked throughout the Star Wars movies, including voicing General Grievous in Revenge of the Sith.
During that same interview, director Matt Shakman spoke about the ways that H.E.R.B.I.E. is going to tug at our heart strings in First Steps. In his words:
He’s charming, he’s funny — but he also will break your heart. Which I hope is emblematic of the movie.
Uh oh. Suddenly I'm feeling nervous about H.E.R.B.I.E.'s fate in the MCU movie. The trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps showed that the titular team's version of Earth was marked for destruction by Galactus. Could the adorable sidekick end up being destroyed as well? Since the four members of the team were announced during Avengers: Doomsday's cast live stream, H.E.R.B.I.E. might be the only logical character for us to lose.
I'm just theorizing here, so don't take me too seriously. I'm just one of many fans hyped to finally see the Fantastic Four in the MCU. The Thunderbolts* credits scene teased their arrival, so they're going to go right into crossover mode in Doomsday.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps will arrive in theaters July 25th as part of the 2025 movie release list, complete with H.E.R.B.I.E.. And Avengers: Doomsday will follow the next year.
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