EW reports that Alan Cumming, who was slated to play the Green Goblin, has dropped out of the Spider-Man musical due to actually working, namely a regular role on The Good Wife. With potential Mary Jane Evan Rachel Wood also recently exiting, and a slew of delays, restarts, revamps, and some $50 million already spent on development, it is time for even us — its staunchest believers — to admit…the Spidey musical is probably never gonna happen.
With music by Bono and the Edge and direction by Julie Taymor, this was set to be the most expensive and ambitious Broadway musical ever, but it looks like this tangled web is getting too Gordian. The show was originally slated to open this February, but budget and production problems caused a revamp and a new schedule. With a running cost of $1 million a week, the show would have to play to sold out houses for years just to break even. Given the graveyard of ambitious shows on Broadway lately, somehow we suspect that someone somewhere is going to look at this money pit and ask…”Why?”
A $50 million flop without ever having to run up the curtain. Max Bialystock would be proud.
This show already cost me $20. (I bought tickets that were refunded when the plays opening was pushed back, but Ticketmaster refuses to refund the service charge.
This bums me out. With talent like Taymor, Bono and Edge on board, there’s no reason this show should flop.
Maybe someone should make a “Watchmen” musical instead.
It would be nice to at least get a concept album out of this.
Boy, those are going to be the most expensive songs ever added to a movie soundtrack when the Spider-Man reboot hits the screen.
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