Marvel Denies AI Use in Fantastic Four Poster Amid Controversy

Do you think that Fantastic Four poster was made with AI? Join the conversation

It is getting harder to spot AI art, and the question of that Fantastic Four poster hangs in the air. Marvel may deny the use of AI, but many tell-tale signs are there - including a figure that appears to only have three fingers. Some disagree that's it's AI (and AI detection websites say it's likely human-made), but the headlines, and discussion persists - likely due to the overall appearance of the image. When we reported on it, we felt that the whole discussion was symbolic of the kinds of negative effect AI has had on the creative industries, and that 'AI fail' has now become the standard critique (where once we would have said 'Photoshop fail'). Do you think the poster was made with AI? If so, why? And if not, do you think AI finger-pointing is getting out of hand? Let us know your thoughts below and we'll feature the most insightful comments in an upcoming article.

The Fantastic Four poster controversy shows AI has ruined poster design

Another day, another case of suspect AI art from a major brand. This time it's the turn of Marvel Entertainment, whose Fantastic Four: First Steps posters are being picked apart by fans, some of whom think they've spotted tell-tale signs of AI image generation. Marvel denies it, and insists that an AI image generator wasn't used to make the artwork. It might well be telling the truth. Some of the "evidence" of AI being picked out could just as easily be the result of rushed compositing in Photoshop. But since there's no knowing any more, which means people are quick to suspect AI. It seems a shame that the controversy is overpowering the glory that is The Thing character design. Over on X, most of the criticism focuses on one of the four Fantastic Four posters showing a crowd scene. Suspect elements include repeated faces in the crowd, which seems to me more likely a sign of old-fashioned compositing than AI. Even the most suspicious element - a hand with three fingers - could probably be explained by over editing. It looks as if the figure may originally have been pointing, and that an artist was told to add a flag in there. Film fans would dissect and criticise poster designs long before AI image generators came along, and we've seen plenty of anatomical oddities over the years. They used to be dismissed as "Photoshop fails", nut today, it seems everything is an 'AI fail' (see our round up of the big AI art controversies from last year). AI art remains so controversial that a brand like Marvel, whose history is deeply connected to the work of artists should probably avoid it. I can understand why Marvel fans are upset. But it becomes difficult in these cases where it might not be AI. It makes it hard to simply enjoy any poster design anymore since we'll always on the look out for a hint of AI to cast scorn on. And that also makes me worry that brands will start to think that if they're going to get accused of using AI anyway, why not just use it? I'm not sure what the solution is. Perhaps brands like Marvel should make the effort to ensure that they use a style of art that can't possibly be taken for AI, or perhaps we'll soon need tags to certify a design as human created rather than the other way around. What do you think AI or not AI? And does it matter? Let us know in the comments.

Disney and Marvel Deny Using AI in 'Fantastic Four' Movie Poster

Disney and Marvel have denied using artificial intelligence on their movie poster for The Fantastic Four: First Steps despite evidence to the contrary. A hand waving a large flag on the lefthand side of the image has just three fingers, sparking speculation that the image was AI-generated. Despite a Marvel spokesperson telling The Wrap that no AI was used, a full statement explaining why some characters have just three fingers hasn't been forthcoming. Other clues that the image is AI include repeated faces, odd-sized limbs, and a general uncanny feel. Despite the studio's denials, Mavel's Instagram post containing the promotional images are filled with comments made by people convinced it is at least partly AI-generated. "Marvel, we can stop with the AI now. Please!," writes one person in all-caps. "Looks like GENAI touched up lazily in PS, " writes photographer Geoffrey Riccio. "Duplicating the faces is a big thing to let slide. So many things off with the images, but it really just looks lazy Without Marvel coming out and explaining the process behind the image, a vacuum is left behind that people can fill with conspiracy theories. Despite the anger of many telling the studio to "hire an illustrator", writing that they refuse to see a movie that has been promoted with AI, the chances are that the poster was worked on by a large creative team and is likely a combination of generative AI tools and Photoshop. The fact that any use of AI will put off fans is a huge headache for Hollywood which has emraced the technology behind closed doors but is afraid to admit it publicly. Oscar-nominated movie epic The Brutalist recently sparked controversy when the editor of the movie revealed that AI was used to fill in a few language gaps when Adrien Brody and co-star Felicity Jones were speaking Hungarian. "I am a native Hungarian speaker and I know that it is one of the most difficult languages to learn to pronounce," David Janscó said. "Even with Adrien's Hungarian background, it's not that simple. It's an extremely unique language." Janscó said that the AI was used to enhance specific letter sounds. "If you're coming from the Anglo-Saxon world certain sounds can be particularly hard to grasp," he added. The displeasure shown toward AI is because of the way the models are built: hoovering up vast amounts of copyrighted data without asking the permission of the rights holders. Despite its unpopularity, no judge has made a definitive ruling on whether such model training falls under fair use or not -- which is what AI companies claim. Regardless, in the court of public opinion, AI tools are guilty.

Marvel Denies AI Used In Fantastic Four Movie Poster

The first trailer for Marvel's upcoming Fantastic Four movie looks great and people seem generally excited about it. However, a poster released for the movie online by Marvel led to some backlash as some believed it was created using AI image generation. But Marvel is pushing back and claims that's not the case. On January 4, Marvel and Disney released the first teaser for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The day prior, the studio had teased the teaser with a teaser, one that included a very annoying (and overused) sound effect. But today we got a good look Marvel's first family as portrayed by Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. I'm digging the retro-futuristic vibes of the trailer and the Thing looks amazing, like Jack Kirby's drawings fully realized in live action. But one of four posters released online for The Fantastic Four: First Steps features some oddities that led many to wonder if AI generation played a hand (thank you) in its creation. But according to The Wrap, a Marvel spokesperson claims that AI wasn't used to create any of the Fantastic Four posters. Here's a high-res version of the poster that has caused all the backlash online. I got this from Marvel's official social media accounts. While fans online have spotted a few discrepancies, the biggest red flag according to many is in the middle left of the image. You can see a man holding a flag and it looks like he has only four fingers. Let's zoom in and check that out: Hmmmm...it does look like this man is missing a finger. So does that automatically mean AI was used to create these posters? Well, I'm not sure about that. Let's all put our pitchforks down for a moment, okay? First off, the other three posters don't seem to contain any obvious AI artifacts. It would be odd to only use AI on one poster. Secondly, some of the other discrepancies in the poster (like the same woman's face popping up twice) can be explained by someone assuming that people weren't going to zoom in on every pixel of every human in the image. They likely had a set number of assets and limited time, and reused some stuff in Photoshop when putting the poster together. As for the hand with four fingers, here's my theory: It's possible that the pointer finger is resting unseen behind the flag pole to stabilize it while waving. It's an odd way to hold a flag, I grant you, but it would explain the missing finger. Or maybe AI was used in the poster's creation by one artist who didn't tell anyone and Marvel isn't lying but instead is not fully aware of the situation. I'll be curious to hear more about Finger-gate soon. I mean, Marvel did use AI to create the awful-looking opening credits for 2023's Secret Invasion. The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives in theaters on July 25 and kicks off the next phase of the MCU.

Marvel responds to claims Fantastic Four marketing was created with AI

Marvel Studios recently released the trailer for "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," and to go along with the trailer were other marketing materials, such as posters, which weren't as well received as the trailer. The trailer for the upcoming movie has gained more than 23 million views at the time of reporting, and while reception has been generally good (based on the Like to Dislike ratio on the YouTube video), Marvel fans were quick to accuse Marvel of using artificial intelligence tools for the movie's marketing posters. The four posters that were released showcased telltale signs of being AI-generated, with hands only having four fingers, two women with the same face, floating objects, and other unnatural inconsistencies. However, according to The Wrap, a Marvel spokesperson has told the publication that none of the posters were created using AI, which only leaves the possibility of these inconsistencies being human errors made by the artists. For those wondering, this isn't the first time Marvel has been embroiled in accusations of using AI to generate media, as AI was used to generate images shown in the opening credits of the TV miniseries "Secret Wars."

Marvel strongly denies using AI in The Fantastic Four: First Steps' new poster, but I'm not buying it and neither is ChatGPT

I used ChatGPT to analyze the image, and most likely AI was used at some part in the editing process Fans of Marvel's The Fantastic Four finally got to see a glimpse of what the upcoming phase 6 movie will look like yesterday when the first trailer launched alongside promotional material. While the official teaser for The Fantastic Four: First Steps has proven to be a hit with fans of Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and the Thing, people are less impressed with Marvel's marketing material that hints at AI-generated art. Following the release of the promotional image on X that you can view below, fans started to pick up on small details such as one person holding a flag with a four-finger hand (usually a telling sign of AI presence), as well as creepy cloned faces of a woman that can be found multiple times in the crowd. A Marvel spokesperson has since spoken to both The Wrap and Deadline denying AI was used for the creation of The Fantastic Four's poster. We've reached out to Marvel for an official comment and will report back if we receive a response. I still have my doubts, however, so I've decided to use AI itself to ask for signs of AI manipulation, here's what it found: Let's get one thing straight, AI-generated or not, The Fantastic Four: First Steps promotional poster in question is terrible. If we're to believe Marvel's confirmation that AI was not used to create this image then someone in the company's design department has taken an incredibly lazy approach to creating not only a background but the forefront of an image. I've used most of the best AI image generators out there and while there's a chance that this image was in fact just heavily edited by a human, I don't understand why you'd make something so close to what artificial intelligence is capable of. Even the writing on the posters looks low resolution as if it's been touched up to correct any AI mistakes that might be found when generating an image with text. ChatGPT was able to run multiple tests on the image for me including noise Pattern & Al artifact detection, edge detection analysis, and a general search for signs of typically AI-generated content. While AI itself wasn't able to give me a conclusive answer, it did lean towards the image being "AI-enhanced or AI-assisted". Nowadays, however, most photo editing tools like Adobe Photoshop and Affinity Photo have AI superpowers to help you edit, and in years past we'd use tools like this without the buzzword of AI plastered on and have no issues about it. Check out ChatGPT's analysis of the promotional image below: Ultimately if Marvel says it didn't use AI then I'm willing to give the company the benefit of the doubt, for now. If in a few days, it comes out that The Fantastic Four's poster is indeed AI, well then we've got an even bigger issue with the company not owning up to its mistakes. Somehow I don't think we've heard the last of this debacle. The Fantastic Four: First Steps starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach will be released in theaters globally on July 25, 2025.

Marvel Denies Using AI to Create The Fantastic Four: First Steps Posters, Despite One of Them Appearing to Show a Man With 4 Fingers - IGN

Marvel has denied using AI to create posters for The Fantastic Four: First Steps after fans spotted one image that includes what appears to be a man with just four fingers. Marketing for The Fantastic Four: First Steps kicked off this week with a teaser for its debut trailer, as well as a series of posters published to social media. One of these posters, below, raised eyebrows after fans noticed the man holding the largest Fantastic Four flag on the left appears to be missing a finger. On top of that, fans have called out various aspects of the poster they believe suggest the use of generative AI in its creation, such as duplicated faces, faces not looking in the correct direction, and odd-sized limbs. However, a Disney/Marvel spokesperson told IGN that AI was not used in the creation of these posters, which suggests something else is going on. Let's start with the four-fingered man. Some suggest his missing finger is hiding neatly behind the flag pole, although based on the size of the fingers, the size of the pole, and the angle the missing finger would need to be set at, that seems improbable. Others have suggested this is simply a poorly put together poster, which is perhaps more a critique of someone's Photoshop skills than it is of AI. Disney/Marvel has yet to comment directly on the four-fingered man or explain what happened there, which is leaving a space for rampant speculation. Could the four fingers be a simple mistake in the post-production process? Perhaps the missing finger was in the original image but was erased without Photoshopping the rest of the hand to compensate. And repeating faces might not necessarily be generative AI. Some are suggesting it's the result of a common copy / paste background actor digital trick. Either way, the debate around The Fantastic Four: First Steps and generative AI this poster has sparked will surely cause even more scrutiny on subsequent assets for the film. While we wait to find out what's next, we have plenty on The Fantastic Four: First Steps, including features on Galactus and Doctor Doom.

Marvel's Alleged AI Flub? Fans Spot Odd Hands in New Fantastic Four Poster - Decrypt

Fantastic Four fans are calling foul after eagle-eyed users on X pointed to telltale signs of the use of generative AI: badly drawn hands. The image features a crowd of cheering fans in a retro-futuristic poster. Yet a closer examination of the hands of several figures shows some with missing fingers or disfigured hands in a form typical of AI image generators. Since the public launch of ChatGPT in 2022, Hollywood has grappled with AI's encroachment on the creative process. In May 2023, the Writers Guild of America went on strike after negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers collapsed over several factors, including compensation and the inability to agree on the use of AI in the writers' room. The WGA strike was followed in July 2023 by the members of SAG-AFTRA, who went on strike, citing several factors, including a lack of residuals and AI protections in the negotiations with the Alliance, as factors in the decision. While AI has convincingly mimicked many aspects of the creative process, hands have remained a small but looming detail that can give away AI-generated images. The backlash directed at the Fantastic Four poster also highlights the long-standing distaste by the general public towards AI-generated content. In a 2023 study published in Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, between 50 and 60% of people surveyed said they prefer human-created art to AI-generated images. Marvel denied the allegations of using AI to create the Fantastic Four poster, according to a report by The Wrap. Marvel Studios did not immediately respond to requests for comments by Decrypt. Social media users voiced concerns over the AI-generated posters, arguing that the move replaced human artists and reduced creative opportunities. Others questioned why a billion-dollar movie studio would rely on AI for posters instead of hiring an artist, and some have argued that it undermines the value of the industry's massive budgets. "Using AI to make the poster?" music and culture writer Ted Gioia said. "Hollywood really has gone to war with creatives." Even those who liked the trailer and thought the movie looked fun expressed frustration over using AI-generated posters. Despite positive reactions to the trailer and film, they questioned why Marvel Studios would cut marketing costs with AI-generated art. The Fantastic Four is the latest high-profile film to be called out over generative AI. In January, Academy Award contenders The Brutalist and Emilia Perez were called out for using AI to improve the voice work of actors in their respective films. "We should be having a very open discussion about what tools AI can provide us with," The Brutalist editor Dávid Jancsó said in an interview with Red Share News. "There's nothing in the film using AI that hasn't been done before. It just makes the process a lot faster," Jancsó added. "We use AI to create these tiny little details that we didn't have the money or the time to shoot."

Marvel denies use of AI in Fantastic Four: First Steps posters

Marvel has denied claims that it used AI in order to create the accompanying posters for Fantastic Four: First Steps. Following the reveal of the movie's trailer yesterday, a lot of fans were happy to see Marvel's first family on screen, but criticism soon followed as people spotted some suspicious posters afterwards. Via The Wrap, Marvel was quick to shoot down these AI rumours, stating that the posters were not made using AI. However, that hasn't stopped the conspiracies from running wild, pointing to people in the posters that appear duplicated and missing fingers. Check out the posters for yourself below. In the past, Marvel has run into some controversy with AI after it used the technology for the opening of Secret Invasion. As AI and film seem to blend more and more, we're bound to see more debates and finger-pointing like this, whether AI has been used or not.

Disney Says Its "Fantastic Four" Posters Aren't AI, They Actually Just Look Like Absolute Garbage

Were the new posters for the upcoming Disney comic book movie "Fantastic Four: First Steps" AI-generated? Apparently not, Marvel says: they actually just look that bad. As The Wrap reports, Disney-owned Marvel Studios has denied that the widely scrutinized marketing materials were in any way created with AI technology, following a flurry of accusations on social media. But if Marvel and Disney are to be believed, these are just the products of someone doing a shoddy Photoshop job -- not of an experimental technology evaporating a lake somewhere. Marvel -- and Disney -- has a history of using AI. For the superhero franchise's TV miniseries "Secret Wars," AI was used to generate images shown in the opening credits sequence, with wonky results. And prior to his passing, Disney obtained approval from Darth Vader voice actor James Earl Jones to clone his voice for future "Star Wars" projects using AI. With other high profile films being embroiled in AI scandals of late, including "The Brutalist" and "Alien: Romulus," fears about how the technology is making inroads into the film industry are running high. This latest episode might be evidence that the hysteric climate has reached a fever pitch. Of course, all the concerns and criticism surrounding AI in the arts are warranted: it flaunts copyright law by cribbing original work, it destroys human jobs, and is arguably antithetical to art itself. But maybe we're forgetting that bad art isn't the exclusive purview of AI models. Aren't comic book movie posters these days -- if not the products they're advertising -- usually pretty hideous? That said, it says a lot that audiences no longer trust these big moviemaking institutions to not capitulate to AI -- because that's exactly what many of them are doing. And, we have to say, some of the poster details are pretty suspicious. Even if Marvel says it's all human-made, it's not outside the realm of possibility that a few AI assets got used at some point in the process without a higher-up knowing. Remember the AI-faked critics quote fiasco with the "Megalopolis" trailer? So sure, this could all just be the result of shoddy workmanship. Disney, after all, has been criticized for the abusive conditions it forces visual artists to work in. It does not like paying artists. Anyway, this is where we're at now -- being driven insane by AI, unable to distinguish the real from the unreal, and vice versa.

Marvel denies using AI for new Fantastic Four posters that have extra fingers and duplicate faces

Marvel says that those new Fantastic Four posters were not, in fact, made by AI - despite those wonky little details. Following the release of the first trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the studio shared a brand new series of posters on social media. The images show various civilians and children who are celebrating the Fantastic Four by way of rallying in a crowd or watching them on television. The first poster in the thread has garnered quite a strong reaction from fans who were quick to point out missing and duplicate fingers, duplicate faces, and other slightly warped details. The images also have that strange texture (for lack of a better term) that a lot of AI-generated images seem to have, though this can be chalked up to the fact that the posters are meant to look old or vintage on purpose given that the new Fantastic Four movie takes places in the 1960s. You can check out the poster below. According to The Wrap, however, a spokesperson for Marvel has denied that AI was used in the creation of the posters. Marvel has used AI in the past however, with the opening credit sequence for the Disney Plus series Secret Invasion being entirely AI-generated. The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters on July 25 as part of Marvel Phase 6. For more, check out our list of all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows you need to know about, or, check out our guide to all the Fantastic Four trailer Easter Eggs you might have missed.

Marvel Denies Using AI for 'Fantastic Four' Poster

The Disney-owned studio unveiled the First Steps poster in conjunction with the film's first teaser early Tuesday morning. In the image, a group of 20th century men and women stand in a crowd to wave at (ostensibly) the Fantastic Four taking flight on a superhero mission. Though many celebrated the release, others quickly pointed out inconsistencies with the design, including some people who appear with only four fingers and two women with the same face. The backlash led to assumptions that Marvel had used AI to develop the image, but a spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter this was not true. The hubbub comes on the heels of controversy for Oscar-nominated film The Brutalist, which came under fire for rumors that the production team used AI to enhance the film's dialogue. Director Brady Corbet denied the allegations, saying that stars Adrian Brody and Felicity Jones worked for months with a dialect coach to perfect their characters' Hungarian accents, and that only the Hungarian portions of the film were adjusted manually using Respeecher technology. "The aim was to preserve the authenticity of Adrien and Felicity's performances in another language, not to replace or alter them and done with the utmost respect for the craft," Corbet said. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is directed by Matt Shakman and stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. The movie will hit theaters in July.

New Fantastic Four Posters Were Not Created With AI, Marvel Says

Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach star in the upcoming film. What has four fingers and loves the Fantastic Four? Not an AI-generated image, according to Marvel. Along with today's first trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the studio also released several very cool, very nostalgic-looking teaser posters which you see a glimpse of above. Eagle-eyed fans noticed, however, that in at least one of the posters, a few of the humans pictured (such as the woman with the camera and the man with the blue flag) have only four fingers, which is usually a surefire sign that something was created with generative artificial intelligence. That is not the case with these posters, however. A Marvel spokesperson confirmed to the Wrap (as well as to io9) that AI was not used in the creation of these new Fantastic Four posters. No other details were revealed. Some fans might be quick to dismiss the denial, especially since Marvel has used generative AI in the past (in the credits of Secret Invasion). But the studio definitely knows lying about it would be worse than actually using AI so we believe it. And even though the denial doesn't explain why those people have four fingers, it could be any number of things, from bad photoshopping, to awkward composition, to physical amputation. Maybe two people with four fingers just so happened to be standing together! Plus, though they may not be perfect down to the last details, the posters are undeniably lovely. The way they capture a certain tone and feel without even using the characters has us very encouraged not just for the movie, but for the rest of the marketing as we approach the July 25 release date. Here's hoping we're given more cool posters, more emotional trailers, and finally a movie that's worthy of the Fantastic Four title in a way that's never happened before. Here's the full set. Here's the excellent official description of the film from Marvel, which opens July 25: "Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces Marvel’s First Familyâ€"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)â€"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.â€