Arcane creators respond as fans accuse Netflix of using AI art for Season 2

Netflix has been criticized by Arcane fans and accused of using AI to alter a poster for Season 2 to fit the platform’s banner, and official Riot employees have responded to these accusations.

This allegation was brought to attention after one X user (formerly Twitter) uploaded a photo of the Arcane Season 2 banner and captioned the post, “I feel stupid, but what is going on with Jinx’s (Vi’s??) hand??”

The image in question depicts sisters Jinx and Vi, the former tightly clutching onto her older sister. However, fans have pointed out that the hands in the artwork look altered and blurry, which is one of the biggest giveaways regarding AI-generated art.

The artwork was originally released as a poster for Arcane Season 2. The portrait design cuts off the character’s hands from the frame, further fueling the allegations that Netflix used AI to elongate the design to suit the landscape dimensions required for their banners.

The original poster added in the comments section, “It’s probably AI, and I hate it here.”

The upload has now generated over 1 million views in less than 12 hours, with many Arcane fans flooding the comments section and slamming Netflix for potentially using AI to help elongate the art piece to fit withi the parameters of their banner image.

“Netflix using AI to extend a poster for ARCANE of all shows is so disappointing and disrespectful,” wrote another X user who reposted the initial allegations.

“They have so many good artists painting them full beautiful splashes that take 20+ hours to paint each and they cant even get one of them to do this,” commented another Arcane fan.

A Riot employee, Astryx, has since responded. He confirmed that they’ve worked with Netflix to get the image removed.

“We have a strict stance of no AI for anything relating to Arcane cause it’s disrespectful to the incredible artists who worked on the show. This image was a mistake and has since been removed.”

Riot Astryx also responded to fan criticism about AI art in general, saying that he personally takes a stance against its use in anything he works on.

“From a purely personal level, I’m not a fan of AI because what makes art so special is the human connection and feeling. Be it through art, music, or any creative medium – it’s something I never want to be replaced by AI.”

This is not the first time Netflix has been criticized for allegedly using AI in its products or on its platform.  In April, 2024, the streaming site was accused of manipulating images using AI in the documentary, What Jennifer Did.

At the time of writing, Netflix has yet to address the allegations that it used AI to alter Arcane season 2’s banner on the site. However, we’ll be sure to keep you updated if they do issue a statement.