Disney+ Accused Of Ripping Off Graphic From Rock Band

Werewolf by Night is the first Marvel Studios Special Presentation in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the franchise’s television shows and films. The special was produced by Marvel Studios and follows a secret group of monster hunters as they compete for a powerful relic while going up against a dangerous monster. However, it appears that not everything was original, particularly the poster.

Midiankai, a graphic artist, took to social media to claim that Disney and Marvel Studios’ official Werewolf by Night poster plagiarized designs from a cover he created for Born from Pain, a Dutch hardcore band, years ago. Midiankai, an Estonia-based graphic designer and artist with over 9 years of experience designing music covers, merchandise & game art, and branding images, spoke with The Direct.

He revealed that he created Born from Pain’s wolf in 2016 after the band commissioned him to produce a shirt print based on their song “Lonewolf.” Many of the elements in Disney+’s Werewolf by Night poster (which was publicly released in September prior to the special’s debut) are nearly identical, if not identical, to the core designs in Midiankai’s cover, specifically the wolf’s snout, teeth, and chin.

I think Illustrator live trace was used on the initial art because it has rounded edges. There are sliders called noise and corners, moving them softens edges, removing sharp edges and artifacts, this is where rounded corners come from. Next, mesh tool was used to widen the snout, and after that lower jaw was moved to make it an open mouth, but the dark notches from the upper teeth remained there. Someone who did it either forgot or didn’t pay attention to that detail.

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Midiankai speculates that because he “interacts with a lot of comic book artists” on social media, the Disney designer may have seen his Born from Pain cover via Twitter or Instagram before using it for the Werewolf by Night poster.

It’s very hard to find art since I’m a lesser-known artist outside of the niches I work in, but I interact with a lot of comic book artists and I have this art In my Twitter feed and on my Instagram page. My wild guess is that this designer/artist saw my interaction with other comic book artists and saw this art, or was following me.

Midiankai earlier told the outlet that “some of [his] art stolen by beginner artists chasing fast profit, but never by big names like Marvel.” So how should Disney right their wrongs? Midiankai noted “credit and royalties” as the “best option” since the poster is “already out in the world.” Disney, as one of the world’s largest media conglomerates, is no stranger to allegations of creative theft.

Prior to the release of Solo: A Star Wars Story in 2018, the studio faced a similar issue of poster plagiarism allegations from an artist whose designs seemed to be borrowed for Solo’s character posters. Disney publicly responded to this 2018 case, clarifying that “the posters were created by an outside vendor, and it’s something we are currently looking into.”

Let’s see how they justify it this time because the two appear to be nearly identical. To get the latest updates, keep an eye on Thirsty.

What do you think of this one? Let us know in the comments!