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
Lack of Transparency
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.
Image credits: Marvel
