‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ First Report: H.E.R.B.I.E. Casting and Details

October 31, 2024 Alex Perez Fantastic Four, Marvel, MCU 3 min read

Fantastic-Four-First-Steps-herbie-casting-report-cosmic-circus

After a relatively quiet yet impactful 2024, Marvel Studios is ready to go all out in 2025. With three movies and five shows set to release in the upcoming year and multiple projects due to film, it’s shaping up to be a very eventful Marvel news cycle. Out of all the Marvel projects set to release in 2025, one of the most anticipated is The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The film, helmed by WandaVision director Matt Shakman, is set to be the grand return of Marvel’s First Family to the silver screen in a decade since the release of Fantastic 4 in 2015. And with a cast starring Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Susan Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm & Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm, with Ralph Ineson as Galactus and Julia Garner as the Silver Surfer, expectations are at an all-time high. But there is one character confirmed to be in the film that has yet to be announced, and that is the Highly Engineered Robot Built for Interdimensional Exploration, better known as H.E.R.B.I.E.

Speculation has run rampant on who will be cast as the snarky robot assistant to Marvel’s First Family. We have some news on H.E.R.B.I.E.’s casting, as well as a few exclusive details from our sources about how Marvel intends to bring H.E.R.B.I.E. to life!

herbie-nycc-image-fantastic-4-first-steps H.E.R.B.I.E. — H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot image revealed at NYCC 2024 (Marvel/image Via TheDirect.com)

Jack Parker is set to play H.E.R.B.I.E. in The Fantastic Four: The First Steps

We at The Cosmic Circus have learned that British actor and puppeteer Jack Parker will be responsible for bringing H.E.R.B.I.E. to life for the upcoming Fantastic Four film. Some of his previous credits include Pip in The Acolyte, Shrinker in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and other credits in forthcoming projects like Andor season 2, How to Train Your Dragon, and Snow White.

What makes Jack Parker an interesting casting choice for H.E.R.B.I.E. is his acting ability and talents, which tie into the next part of this report. It is currently not known to us whether Parker will actually voice H.E.R.B.I.E., or simply provide specialized skills to the production for the character. (Similar to Sean Gunn and Bradley Cooper both being a part of playing Rocket from the Guardians of the Galaxy)

fantastic-four-first-steps-valentines-poster with H.E.R.B.I.E. Herbie the Robot — Fantastic 4 Valentines Day poster from Marvel Studios and early look at the cast including H.E.R.B.I.E. the Robot.

H.E.R.B.I.E. will be a practical puppet in The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Our sources were able to exclusively share with us that H.E.R.B.I.E. is, in fact, a practical puppet on the set of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The puppet has reportedly “interacted in sequences with the First Family, similar to how Star Wars approaches its interactions with droids like C-3PO, R2-D2, and BB-8.”

The H.E.R.B.I.E. puppet is operated by Jack Parker, according to our sources. The decision to make H.E.R.B.I.E. a practical puppet and effect for the film stems from the director, Matt Shakman, who has opted to make this film as practical as possible and reduce the over-use of CGI.

Other examples of this include the use of the Fantasticar, which was seen “hovering” over the crowd at Hall H this year. Sources say this is “only a taste of what fans will experience next year.”