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The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer arrived amid plenty of fanfare and anticipation, and it seems to have impressed a large chunk of the crowd, too. However, the same cannot be said about the poster for the film, which received severe backlash online, with fans claiming it was AI-generated, which it turns out, is not the case.
Marvel quickly clarified that the posters are not AI-generated, but that does not seem to have stopped the outpouring of negative comments about The Fantastic Four: First Steps poster. In fact, after Marvel clarified that they had not used AI to make the posters, many fans took to social media platforms like X and expressed their disbelief over the claim.
For instance, X user @Pookie_hayat wrote on their X:
"Fans are not blind. They know everything."
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Many other fans chimed in with similar claims.
"Im sure its AI"- another user said.
"Marvel denying AI use just means they definitely used AI"- another user said.
"They look full AI!"- another comment read.
"Then somebody needs to tell the artist that hands typically have 4 fingers and thumb."- another user wrote.
Besides the comments, many users also posted specific parts of the poster to support their claim about the poster being AI-generated. Marvel also previously garnered negative attention for AI usage in Secret Invasion, which makes it all the more sensitive to them.
Why were there allegations of AI usage in the poster for The Fantastic Four: First Steps?
The claims of AI usage in the creation of The Fantastic Four: First Steps poster started quite quickly after Marvel released the trailer and the poster. The claims came after fans noticed some peculiarities in the poster, elements that were singled out and posted by many across various social media platforms.
The peculiarities included a man having four fingers, a woman who was seemingly repeated in the poster, and an awkwardly posing cameraman. The poster tried to capture the essence of the film's 1960s setting, but it quickly caught the attention of the fans for the wrong reasons.
Since the claims emerged, Marvel very quickly gave out a response, claiming that no AI was used in the poster, but fans seem to be convinced otherwise. Perhaps the performance of the movie, which is due later this year, will take the attention off this issue.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set to be the 37th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). It is also the second reboot of the franchise after a failed attempt in 2015. In the latest iteration, which will also be part of the shared Marvel universe in the future, Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, are playing the four primary characters.
The star-studded cast additionally features the likes of Ralph Ineson, Julia Garner, Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, Natasha Lyonne, and Sarah Niles.
The film is set to premiere theatrically on July 25, 2025.
