Another day, another AI art scandal in Hollywood. After the Supergirl and the Spider-Man: Brand New Day AI controversies, some suggested that we probably shouldn't be surprised. Some artists suggested that the practice of using AI for movie concept art was probably already much more widespread that many people thought, and deeply ingrained in studio worklows.
It seems we already have more evidence that this might be the case. It appears that AI was also used for concept art for Travis Knight's recent Masters of the Universe. Will fan disappointment make a difference, or are we already beyond the point of no return?
Yet another AI generated image in movies that will end up in the artbook! Masters of the Universe used AI in art just like spiderman did pic.twitter.com/uiGSsvItcNAugust 23, 2026
"Yes, we use AI as a tool when it speeds production up. The design work is ours," Chromatic Studio said of its costume exploration sketches for King Randor, ruler of Eternos, when asked on Instagram whether the images were made using AI.
A lot of people aren't buying that justification about speeding up the process. "AI slop + the guy who overpainted this clearly did not enjoy this, such a disappointment to see good outsourcing studios using such a disgusting method just to 'speed up their process'," one person comments.
I can see how studios justify the use of AI art for concept art, or at least I could if were were still in an era where the concept art wouldn't normally see the light of day.
By definition, concept art is exploratory, and it can be highly iterative. Using AI can allow concept artists to test out more ideas more quickly, saving time on work that isn't going to appear in the finished project anyway.
Selling an “art book” that has Ai visuals in it should genuinely be illegal Welp, The Art of Spider-Man Brand New Day book sadly includes Ai slop (look at the traffic lights and fire escapes) pic.twitter.com/To5rGdfsC7August 21, 2026
The problem is that today concept art almost always does see the light of day. It's shared in portfolios, making-of-videos and art books for fans eager to see more of the process and artistry behind the film.
In these kinds of pieces, people would previously admire the skills and craftmanship that went into the early development of a movie or game. But when AI was used heavily in the process, what are we supposed to be appreciating or admiring exactly? The idea itself, I guess, but perhaps studios will need to stop showing their working so proudly if they're going to insist on using AI.
