Did AI Influence the Design of Fantastic Four: First Steps Posters? Marvel Denies, Leaving Questions About Their Quality

Recently, when the first trailer for “Fantastic Four: First Steps” was released, people started buzzing about the accompanying posters, accusing them of being AI-generated. However, Marvel is flat-out denying these claims.

With technology advancing so rapidly, figuring out what’s created by AI and what’s not is becoming quite tricky. Gone are the days when anything slightly off-kilter was clearly a result of poor Photoshop skills. Nowadays, whenever we come across a peculiar image, the immediate question in everyone’s mind is, “Is this AI?” This scenario unfolded this week with the two posters for “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.” If you take a look at them, it’s easy to see why folks might jump to that conclusion.

For starters, you notice a woman’s face appearing twice in the crowd, and a person waving the biggest Fantastic Four flag oddly seems to have just four fingers. Incorrect finger counts are a notorious hallmark of AI reproduction. The lighting in AI images tends to look strange, and the same weirdness is present in these posters. But, according to Marvel, who addressed this through The Hollywood Reporter, there was no use of AI in creating these images. Assuming that’s accurate, it leaves us pondering another question: why do they look so poorly done?

It appears to be a broader issue of Marvel cutting corners, despite having the resources to do much better. It’s particularly puzzling given that the first trailer seems to have embraced real sets for once, moving away from an overreliance on green screens. I personally suspect these posters were just botched Photoshop efforts. The repeated face isn’t typical for AI mishaps. But honestly, it just makes you wonder why you’d want to spend money on a new Marvel movie if even minor projects like these aren’t given the attention they deserve.

While the posters may have stirred skepticism, there’s hope that the actual film will deliver when it hits theaters on July 25. Until then, we’ll have to wait and see how this unfolds.