Fantastic Four Controversy: Marvel Denies Use Of AI

Following the release of the trailer, Marvel released four new posters for The Fantastic Four: First Steps where fans were quick to call out the use of AI.

One particular poster features a person with four fingers, and a face is used twice (see below). It’s known AI has a difficult time generating fingers. In addition, Marvel Studios is confirmed to have used AI for the opening of its Secret Invasion Disney+ series.

AI wasn’t used says Marvel

However, according to Deadline, “A rep from Marvel Studios tells Deadline that AI wasn’t used.” 

Did Marvel really use AI in the poster?

If I had to guess, I am guessing AI was used for the creation of the poster, probably not the entire thing. The five people standing in the front might actually be real, or at least created by a real person, but the background likely uses AI. Again, the hand with four fingers is a dead giveaway. Honestly, I don’t know how an artist would draw it that way.

I’ve also seen comic book artists use the same images twice or more because it obviously saves time, so using the same face in an image of a crowd of people isn’t all that surprising, but it sure is lazy.

AI just another tool

Regarding the use of AI, I actually talked with Marvel insiders and a VFX artist about it a couple of years ago while I was at San Diego Comic-Con. The VFX artist wasn’t too worried about the use of AI and felt it was just another tool to use in the arsenal. They said it’s like using another paintbrush, and they are toying with it, but when it comes down to it, artificial intelligence can’t match the human mind.

The VFX artists actually thought at the time that Kevin Feige used AI in the Secret Invasion opening to intentionally show that it’s not up to par and doesn’t match the high-quality work of VFX studios.

Worth a mention is that the VFX artists pointed out that Feige using AI in Secret Invasion  just before the writers and actors strikes. So they thought that Feige might have used AI in Secret Invasion on purpose to bring attention to the cause and back the strike as well as VFX artists.