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.
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… pic.twitter.com/H0eroZNclf
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.
Some of the best shots in Grok Imagine’s AI-made Odyssey don’t contain actors. Ancient landscapes stretch into the distance. Close-ups of grimy hands suggest people who have touched something rougher than a keyboard. For a few seconds, the illusion holds.
https://twitter.com/imagine/status/2113712964419063911
YouTube videos could soon look better without eating quite so much data, right? Thankfully, the platform plans to introduce a new video format called AV2 on its web player in early 2027, promising more efficient streaming and potentially fewer playback hiccups on slower internet connections. The big headline is a roughly 30% improvement in compression efficiency over AV1, YouTube's existing video format. That doesn't guarantee every video will use 30% less data, but it could make streaming a little easier on both internet connections and data allowances.
What is AV2, and why should viewers care?
YouTube is changing how its Home page works, giving viewers more control over what shows up there and making some of the app’s most-used sections easier to reach. Custom Feeds are now replacing the existing topic chips for eligible users, while YouTube is also testing a redesigned top bar on mobile that moves Subscriptions closer to the Home feed.
YouTube first started experimenting with Custom Feeds earlier this year, letting you type out what you wanted to watch and turning that request into its own stream of recommendations. Now, the feature is starting to look less like a side experiment and more like something YouTube actually wants people to use as part of their everyday Home page.