It wouldn’t be a major Marvel release without a little bit of controversy, and for Fantastic Four: First Steps, that comes in the form of allegations about an AI-generated poster being released alongside the new trailer. Allegations that Marvel has now come out and denied.
The issues started when Marvel released the above poster, showing a crowd cheering for and presumably watching the Fantastic Four prepare to leave the planet. The image is obviously not a real photo and was clearly made by piecing together different images into a whole, but just who or what did that is what had people crying foul. Users pointed out what they believed to be missing fingers and the repeated use of one woman’s face in the crowd, which could be telltale signs of a computer that doesn’t know any better.
However, Marvel told The Wrap that this just isn’t the case, firmly stating, “AI was not used in the creation of these posters.”
While that may be comforting to some, it does raise the question of why the posters look so strange. As this was done by a human, then it’s some pretty lackluster Photoshop that speaks to a rushed job instead of a concentrated focus. We are, of course, far gone from the days of stunning poster artwork hand-drawn by artists, but this looks like someone did it last week when they remembered they needed something to release alongside the trailer.
This isn’t the first time Marvel has courted controversy by using AI. The opening credits for Secret Invasion were made with the help of AI and received instant and vocal criticism from the industry and fans. It appears, at least in this case, that Marvel learned its lesson and is now moving forward with low-effort posters done by humans instead of machines. I guess that’s a win?
The Fantastic Four: First Step is set to release on July 25, 2025.