Spider-Man: Brand New Day concept art sparks backlash for alleged use of generative AI

Marvel Studios' newly released book 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day – The Art Of The Movie' is facing allegations of generative AI use from fans. It features concept art for the Marvel and Sony movie, including an image of a New York City street called 'Big City, Little Spider' by Scott McInnes, which some believe features the hallmarks of AI artwork.

As detailed in a Reddit post from a user named TheArtbookCollector, they point out strange warping in the image on some of the buildings as well as on the yellow taxis in the center of the mock-up.

"When looking at details of the buildings and taxis, you can see strange warping and shapes, which are indicators of AI use," they write. "This is the only image in the book that raises big red flags for me, despite others saying there is more, in which I don't agree. Another piece does have stock image watermarks though."

Potential AI use in the Spider-Man: Brand New Day artbook

The allegations have been echoed elsewhere on social media, with others pointing out the traffic lights and the deli sign in the image also look uncanny. The artist McInnes has previously worked on films like Fantastic Four, Masters of the Universe, and Gladiator 2.

It's worth noting that no other images in the book, nor any part of the final movie, face the same AI allegations. GamesRadar+ has reached out to Marvel Comics, the publisher of the new book, for comment.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day fans have been sharing their disappointment over the potential use online. "As much as I loved the movie this is still inexcusable, this a problem within the industry as a whole that needs to be corrected," wrote one, while a second quipped: "You have to understand, pictures of New York City are extremely rare."

"FOR CONTEXT in the book it was used in one image by one artist, obviously not every piece made for the movie makes the book, but it being the only one is telling that it was probably just This Guy and not a widespread thing," added a third.

This isn't the only superhero movie that's been accused of using generative AI recently. In a Supergirl behind-the-scenes featurette, the film's director Craig Gillespie was seen showing Jason Momoa a mock-up of Lobo, which looked like an AI-generated image. Warner Bros. then removed the video from their official YouTube channel after it sparked widespread backlash.

For more on Spider-Man: Brand New Day, check out our guides to the Spider-Man: Brand New Day ending explained and all the Spider-Man: Brand New Day Easter eggs and cameos we spotted.