Marvel strongly denies using AI in The Fantastic Four: First Steps' new poster, but I'm not buying it and neither is ChatGPT

• Marvel released the first trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps yesterday
• A Marvel spokesperson has denied AI was used for creating the poster
• I used ChatGPT to analyze the image, and most likely AI was used at some part in the editing process

Fans of Marvel's The Fantastic Four finally got to see a glimpse of what the upcoming phase 6 movie will look like yesterday when the first trailer launched alongside promotional material.

While the official teaser for The Fantastic Four: First Steps has proven to be a hit with fans of Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and the Thing, people are less impressed with Marvel's marketing material that hints at AI-generated art.

Following the release of the promotional image on X that you can view below, fans started to pick up on small details such as one person holding a flag with a four-finger hand (usually a telling sign of AI presence), as well as creepy cloned faces of a woman that can be found multiple times in the crowd.

A Marvel spokesperson has since spoken to both The Wrap and Deadline denying AI was used for the creation of The Fantastic Four's poster. We've reached out to Marvel for an official comment and will report back if we receive a response.

I still have my doubts, however, so I've decided to use AI itself to ask for signs of AI manipulation, here's what it found:

AI or terrible Photoshop skills?

The Fantastic Four: First Steps | Official Teaser | Only in Theaters July 25 - YouTube

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Let's get one thing straight, AI-generated or not, The Fantastic Four: First Steps promotional poster in question is terrible. If we're to believe Marvel's confirmation that AI was not used to create this image then someone in the company's design department has taken an incredibly lazy approach to creating not only a background but the forefront of an image.

I've used most of the best AI image generators out there and while there's a chance that this image was in fact just heavily edited by a human, I don't understand why you'd make something so close to what artificial intelligence is capable of. Even the writing on the posters looks low resolution as if it's been touched up to correct any AI mistakes that might be found when generating an image with text.

ChatGPT was able to run multiple tests on the image for me including noise Pattern & Al artifact detection, edge detection analysis, and a general search for signs of typically AI-generated content. While AI itself wasn't able to give me a conclusive answer, it did lean towards the image being "AI-enhanced or AI-assisted". Nowadays, however, most photo editing tools like Adobe Photoshop and Affinity Photo have AI superpowers to help you edit, and in years past we'd use tools like this without the buzzword of AI plastered on and have no issues about it. Check out ChatGPT's analysis of the promotional image below:

Image 1 of 3

Ultimately if Marvel says it didn't use AI then I'm willing to give the company the benefit of the doubt, for now. If in a few days, it comes out that The Fantastic Four's poster is indeed AI, well then we've got an even bigger issue with the company not owning up to its mistakes. Somehow I don't think we've heard the last of this debacle.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach will be released in theaters globally on July 25, 2025.

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