Marvel Studios has firmly denied using artificial intelligence to create the posters for The Fantastic Four: First Steps following fan speculation sparked by an image featuring a man with seemingly only four fingers. The marketing campaign for the film, which included a teaser for its first trailer and a series of posters shared on social media, drew attention after fans pointed out several anomalies in one of the posters.

In the controversial image, a man holding a large Fantastic Four flag appears to have a missing finger. This detail, along with other perceived irregularities such as duplicated faces, misaligned gazes, and disproportionate limbs, led fans to suspect the use of generative AI in the poster's creation. However, a spokesperson from Disney/Marvel assured IGN that no AI was used in the making of these promotional materials, suggesting that other factors may be at play.

Speculation around the four-fingered man includes theories that the missing finger might be hidden behind the flagpole, though this seems unlikely given the visible proportions and angles. Others believe it could be a simple oversight in the post-production process, such as the finger being edited out without properly adjusting the rest of the hand. Similarly, the repeated faces in the poster might result from a common digital editing technique used to copy and paste background actors, rather than AI-generated imagery.

Despite the official denial, the controversy surrounding the poster has fueled ongoing debates and increased scrutiny of future promotional materials for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. As fans await further developments, they can look forward to more content on the film, including detailed features on characters like Galactus and Doctor Doom.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps - Trailer 1 Stills

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Disney/Marvel has not yet provided a direct explanation for the four-fingered man, leaving room for continued speculation. The discussion around the use of AI in this poster is likely to intensify scrutiny on upcoming promotional assets for the film.