Spider-Man: Brand New Day Slammed For Its Use Of AI

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Under Fire For AI Use Revealed In Art Book Published Aug 21, 2026, 4:20 AM EDT Sam Woods is TheGamer’s Senior Reporter. He’s been in games journalism since 2020 and has undertaken a variety of roles in that time. These have included roles such as SEO Editor, Managing Editor at DualShockers, and Global Head of Gaming, and he's also been seen on the BBC. He was promoted to the Senior Reporter position in 2025 following a series of high-quality reports and exclusives for TheGamer. Since 2020, Sam has written over 2,500 articles and specializes in telling the stories of the people behind the games. He’s interviewed the biggest game directors, some of the industry’s top talents, told the stories of how indie games came to be, and spoken to players about what really makes them tick. He’s also interviewed some of the world’s biggest musical artists to find out how the medium has inspired their work, and TV and Film actors about their roles in video game adaptations. He even hosted a PAX panel in 2021 and made a documentary in 2024 surrounding the creation of a Disney game. Alongside this, Sam focuses on breaking news. He got the scoop on Perfect Dark’s cancellation, got context around some AI drama, and revealed how Lady Dimitrescu’s actress would love to step back into the character’s giant shoes. These articles have been picked up by the biggest gaming sites, including IGN, GameSpot, and PC Gamer. He also loves to dive into the numbers behind the games. Sam’s journey in games journalism has taken him all over the world. He’s covered Gamescom in Germany, Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles, and Tokyo Game Show in Japan, each on more than one occasion. He’s been learning Japanese since 2024 with the intention of identifying and translating Japanese-language news and bringing it to English-language audiences first, something he’s done countless times. Sam’s first review was 2020’s Battletoads reboot, and he’s since reviewed games in The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, and Pokemon franchises. Spider-Man: Brand New Day fans have spotted egregious use of generative AI in an art book released shortly after the movie hit theaters. The book, filled with concept art, depicts one particular scene in which cars are mangled and fire escapes make no sense, drawing ire from viewers, who rightly believe a billion-dollar company like Marvel can, and should, do better than this. Spider-Man: Brand New Day Is The Latest Major Release To Get Slammed For AI Usage Sony/Marvel Generative AI has been a sticky subject in the video game world. Companies like Larian (Divinity), Take-Two Interactive, and Naughty Dog have all been involved in recent backlash, and it doesn't look like it's going to slow down. It shows the desire for real creators, rather than lining the pockets of AI companies. The issue has also been a sticking point in the movie world, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day is facing repercussions online after it was reportedly found to use generative AI in some of its concept art. In a new post by TheArtbookCollector on Reddit, we see a piece of concept art depicting a typical New York City street. The roads are packed with yellow taxis, multi-story buildings line the streets, and there are at least two delis in view. When you look closer, however, the AI usage is clear. There is one taxi in the middle of the road that looks like a jumbled mess, and another that looks like a growth on a third taxi. All eight in the shot have something wrong with them. The buildings are equally deranged. Stairwells and fire escapes are contorted, windows are out of place, and entranceways are a mess. It's all pretty blatant, and the fact that AI art made its way into an art book has been described as "shameless". The backlash online is clear. "It's unforgivable for a company this size to do something like this. Since they fired their art department, I've feared it would slowly seep into the product, and it seems it already has," said MillAUM2579 on Reddit. Tyenasaur added, "That's really unfortunate. I agree that no real artist would make some of the design decisions in this. Zooming in to spots makes it even worse." Marvel isn't the only movie company or creator to come under fire over the topic in recent times, either. Star Wars creator George Lucas said AI will make it "easier" for people to make movies, and DC took down a behind-the-scenes video of the recently released Supergirl movie after it was suggested that generative AI was used in the film's production. Release Date July 29, 2026 Runtime 145 minutes Director Destin Daniel Cretton Cast Tom Holland Peter Parker / Spider-Man Tramell Tillman William 'Bill' Metzger Writers Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers Producers Avi Arad, Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Amy Pascal, David Cain Prequel(s) Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Spider-Man: No Way Home Franchise(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man