Warner Bros. took down a Supergirl video that appeared to show AI art
A behind-the-scenes video showing director Craig Gillespie and Jason Momoa reviewing Lobo concept art was removed from YouTube within hours, after viewers flagged the images as AI-generated. It sits awkwardly against public promises from James Gunn and Jim Lee.
Warner Bros. posted a behind-the-scenes featurette for Supergirl on August 13. It was gone from YouTube within hours.
The video, titled “Lobo - DC Dream Behind The Scenes,” showed director Craig Gillespie and Jason Momoa looking at concept art for Lobo on a laptop. Viewers flagged the images as apparently AI-generated, pointing to how quickly the designs were being altered on screen and to a window showing roughly a dozen variations.
Warner Bros. hasn’t said why it removed the video.
The problem isn’t only the AI
What made this land hard is what DC’s leadership has said in public, repeatedly.
DC Comics president Jim Lee told a New York Comic Con audience in October 2025 that the company would not support AI-generated storytelling or artwork. His phrasing was categorical: not now, not ever. He added that AI doesn’t dream or feel, it aggregates.
DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn has been similarly public. He mocked AI-generated Batman designs on Threads in 2025, responded to an AI-made Superman trailer with vomiting emojis, and has talked about giving VFX artists the time and respect to do the work properly.
So a promotional video from Warner Bros. appearing to show AI concept art on a DC production is a contradiction the studio built for itself.
What’s actually established
Worth being precise, because the reaction moved faster than the facts.
Confirmed: the featurette existed, it showed concept art, it was pulled from YouTube. Also confirmed, oddly, is that it remains available in the Extras section of Supergirl‘s digital release, so the removal was partial.
Not confirmed: that the images were AI-generated. That’s a widespread reading by viewers and critics, not a studio admission. There’s also no indication generative AI appeared in the finished film, and concept exploration in pre-production is a different thing from AI in a final shot.
Neither Warner Bros., DC Studios, nor Gillespie has commented.
Why the reaction was this sharp
The anger is loudest from the people whose work this touches.
The common objection is that Lobo has five decades of published comic art behind him, so reaching for a generator to explore his look is both unnecessary and pointed. One widely shared reaction on the DC film subreddit was less angry than bleak, about artists watching their field shrink in real time.
It also lands on a film already having a rough year. Supergirl took roughly $125 million worldwide against a budget in the $170 to $180 million range, sits at 52% on Rotten Tomatoes, and is the lowest-grossing DC film since Catwoman in 2004. The studio didn’t need another reason for people to talk about it.
The featurette was presumably meant to generate goodwill for a movie that could use some. Instead it created a fresh argument about whether DC means what it says about AI, and then Warner Bros. answered that argument by deleting the video and saying nothing. Both halves of that are choices.
Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (entertainment editor) and the Clownfish TV newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
The Direct (August 2026), verified for the featurette’s title, its removal from YouTube, the AI-generated concept art of Momoa’s Lobo, the contradiction with Gunn and Lee’s stated positions, and Lee’s New York Comic Con quote
TechTimes (August 14, 2026), verified for the August 13 removal within hours of release, the absence of any statement from Warner Bros., DC Studios or Gillespie, the featurette remaining in the PVOD Extras section, and Lee’s fuller “AI doesn’t dream” remark
Futurism (August 2026), verified for the on-screen clues viewers cited including rapid customization and the window of iterations, the lack of clear indication that AI was used in the final product, and the artist reaction on the DC film subreddit
GamesRadar+ and World of Reel (August 2026), verified for the $125 million worldwide gross, the 52% Rotten Tomatoes score, the lowest-since-Catwoman framing, Gunn’s prior anti-AI posts, and the outstanding request for comment