Latest news with #H.E.R.B.I.E.
Digital Trends
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
H.E.R.B.I.E. in Fantastic Four: The First Steps will be voiced by this Star Wars actor
The biggest mystery around The Fantastic Four: The First Steps has been solved, and no, it doesn't concern Robert Downey Jr.'s rumored appearance as Doctor Doom. The identity of H.E.R.B.I.E. has finally been revealed. Sound editor and voice actor Matthew Wood will provide the vocal performance for H.E.R.B.I.E. — Humanoid Experimental Robot B-Type Integrated Electronics. Created by Reed Richards, H.E.R.B.I.E. is an android that serves the Fantastic Four. H.E.R.B.I.E. is more than capable of helping Reed in the lab. Recommended Videos In an interview with Empire, director Matt Shakman teased H.E.R.B.I.E.'s integral role as the fifth member of the four-person team. 'He's absolutely as important and as alive as any other member of the cast,' Shakman said. '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.' Wood is best known for his work as an Academy Award-nominated sound editor on multiple Star Wars movies, including the sequel trilogy. As a voice actor, Wood famously voiced General Grievous in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. 'He's charming, he's funny — but he also will break your heart,' Shakman said about Wood's performance. EXCLUSIVE 🤖 #TheFantasticFour: First Steps' adorable android H.E.R.B.I.E. is 'as alive as any other member of the cast,' says director Matt Shakman. 'He is definitely a member of the family.' He's brought to life by a combination of remote-control practical FX, puppetry, and… — Empire (@empiremagazine) May 6, 2025 The Fantastic Four: First Steps is Marvel's introduction of the 'First Family' in the MCU. The members include Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing. Ralph Ineson voices the primary villain, Galactus, while Julia Garner plays Shalla-Bal/Silver Surfer. Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, Natasha Lyonne, and Sarah Niles also star. The Fantastic Four: First Steps kicks off Phase Six of the MCU. It will be released in theaters on July 25. Please enable Javascript to view this content
Newsweek
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
'Fantastic Four' Releases New Look at Unofficial Fifth Member
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek's network of contributors Between the trailer and other promotional material for "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," we've gotten some good looks at most members of the team, but one little guy we could use a little more of is the team's unofficial fifth member, H.E.R.B.I.E. (Humanoid Experimental Robot, B-type, Integrated Electronics) the robot. Now Empire has provided us with a new look at him as he puts together a crib, presumably for Reed and Sue's baby. New look at H.E.R.B.I.E. in THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS! — MCU - The Direct (@MCU_Direct) May 6, 2025 Read More: Robert Downey Jr. Gives Blessing to Marvel Successor According to "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" director Matt Shakman, H.E.R.B.I.E. deserves as much love and praise as anyone in the movie. "He's absolutely as important and as alive as any other member of the cast," Shakman said. "He's sometimes a slightly put-upon robot, but he is definitely a member of the family. He's just so charming and adorable." (L-R): Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch in 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios' THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST... (L-R): Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch in 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios' THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2025 MARVEL. More Marvel Studios Shakman also made it clear that H.E.R.B.I.E. is an important asset to Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal): "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." H.E.R.B.I.E. is not simply a CGI-rendered puppet, but was created largely from practical effects. The different versions of H.E.R.B.I.E. on set include an animatronic whose actions are controlled by four different people. "Our 'prime' one has fully moving head and arms," SFX supervisor Alistair Williams told Empire. "We've had him driving around the set, cleaning, picking up toys, serving Martinis..." CGI effects were added to H.E.R.B.I.E. later, along with a voice performance by Matthew Wood, best known for voicing the "Star Wars" villain General Grievous. Like Harley Quinn, H.E.R.B.I.E. is the rare example of a character who was created outside the comic books first and proved too popular to be left out. The robot first appeared in the animated series "The New Fantastic Four" in 1978, but rather than an "unofficial" fifth member, he was there as a replacement for the Human Torch. Many fans continue to believe the urban myth that Human Torch was left out of the series because executives were afraid children would be inspired to set themselves on fire. In fact, the rights to the Human Torch had been optioned for a movie. The movie never happened, but regardless, the character couldn't appear in the cartoon. More Comics: Marvel's Ironheart - Everything We Know So Far Blade Reboot Costume Designer Confirms Wildest Theory About Failed Film
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Marvel Rivals Midseason Starts Next Week: Start Time, New Heroes and More
Marvel Rivals, the new hero shooter based on Marvel comics characters, is almost halfway through its first full season. The free-to-play game launched season 0 on Dec. 6 and quickly reached 20 million players before starting its first full season in early January. Next week's midseason update will bring two new heroes, one new map and (thank Odin) will not feature a rank reset as originally announced. The second half of season 1 will start on Feb. 21, although the precise start time has yet to be announced. Season 1 began at 1 a.m. PT. Read more: Marvel Rivals: How to Choose Which Heroes and Roles to Play Season 1 brings the Fantastic Four -- Invisible Woman, Mr. Fantastic, Human Torch and The Thing -- to Marvel Rivals. They're a fitting addition to the game, given its premise that two Doctor Dooms from different timelines are warring for control. (It also helps build hype for the new Fantastic Four movie, First Steps, coming this July.) We've already gotten Invisible Woman in the strategist role and Mr. Fantastic as a duelist. The midseason patch will add The Thing as a vanguard and Johnny Storm as yet another duelist. A new map, Central Park, will be added in the midseason patch. So far in Season 1, we've gotten one new convoy map, Midtown, where players escort the Fantastic Four's robotic ally H.E.R.B.I.E. to Avengers tower. We also got an all-new arcade game mode, Doom Match, which takes place in Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum. The devs said this is twice what they have planned for future seasons, so it's probably safe to expect one new hero at the start of future seasons and another about six weeks later, with one or two new maps per season. That would mean eight new heroes per year, and four to eight new maps. That's an impressive amount of content for a live-service game. There have been many other Marvel Rivals leaks recently, including hero models or abilities for characters like Ultron, Emma Frost and Jean Grey. These all have yet to be confirmed and won't show up in season 1, but they do suggest a healthy content roadmap for the game, essential for keeping players engaged over the year. The season 1 pass features 10 new costumes, styled around the season's Eternal Night theme. The battle pass costs 990 lattice (about $10 worth of in-game currency). You can earn 600 lattice and 600 units (collectively, about $12 worth of in-game currency) if you complete the battle pass. So far, no balance changes have been announced for the midseason patch. Hawkeye and Hela received nerfs to start season 1, and Jeff's ultimate was also adjusted. Captain America, Cloak and Dagger, Storm, Venom and Wolverine, among others received buffs to their kits. The start of the season was accompanied by full patch notes detailing the changes, and the stats on the Rivals website were similarly updated with new balance numbers. The Rivals site will also update pick and win rate stats at midseason. Rivals devs confirmed in a blog post that "When the second half of the season begins, there will be no rank reset." This was a swift 180 from the initial announcement just a day earlier that they intended to drop everyone's ranks by four divisions, just six weeks after everyone's ranks dropped seven divisions at the start of the new season. The announcement was unpopular with players, who felt that resets every six to seven weeks added a level of futility to the ranked climb. Going forward, ranks will be reset six divisions at the start of a new season (approximately every 13 weeks). For more on Marvel Rivals, check out my tips for getting started and my guide to choosing which heroes and roles to play.
