SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK Movie, BOY FALLS FROM SKY, Hits The Hollywood Black List

SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK Movie, BOY FALLS FROM SKY, Hits The Hollywood Black List

The Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark musical has become notorious, and a movie detailing the Broadway show's troubled production - titled Boy Falls From Sky - has now hit this year's Hollywood Black List...

By JoshWilding - Dec 12, 2023 04:12 AM EST
Filed Under: Spider-Man

Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark was a Broadway musical production that premiered way back in 2010. Initially, there was a great deal of excitement about the wall-crawler's stage debut, especially with Julie Taymor directing and Bono and The Edge of U2 tapped to provide lyrics.

Unfortunately, it faced a troubled and tumultuous development process, including numerous delays, technical difficulties, and safety concerns during rehearsals and performances.

Indeed, it became notorious for the high number of injuries sustained by cast members, leading to several cast changes and, eventually, mixed reviews. Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark also took significant liberties with the source material, putting a bizarre spin on Peter Parker and his greatest foes. 

The musical still had a relatively lengthy run on Broadway, closing after four years with a massive financial loss. It was a spectacle - in both good and bad ways - and now, a movie about the ill-fated project has hit the Black List. 

That's an annual survey which highlights the best unproduced screenplays in the film industry. The Black List helps unrecognized scripts gain attention, often leading to them being produced; it's also a way for studios to discover budding writers. 

Boy Falls From Sky was written by Hunter Toro, whose work includes Digman! and Bupkis, and is described as being about, "An anxious playwright finds himself tangled in a web of deceit, injury, and intellectual property as he adapts his first Broadway musical, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Inspired by a true story."

Given the rights issues involved with a movie like this, it's hard to say whether this project will ever get made (a documentary ultimately seems far more likely). 

Other Marvel-related projects to have hit the Black List in previous years include an Ironheart movie in 2018 and Excelsior!, a Stan Lee and Jack Kirby biopic in 2020 which we're sure Disney would rather not see the light of day. 

"This year, the industry was defined by a debate about the value of writers within it, and I think it's inevitable that this year's Black List means more than it has in the past," Black List founder Franklin Leonard said. "I've been saying that writing is the lifeblood of the industry for almost twenty years now, and I'll continue saying it until the industry actually starts acting like it."

"Now that the strikes are over, I look forward to these and other great scripts getting made so I can watch them as an audience member myself."

Would you watch a movie detailing the making of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark?

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asherman93
asherman93 - 12/12/2023, 5:36 AM
So biopics about Lee/Kirby, and the Spider-Man musical?

Also, Ironheart was gonna get a movie? Huh. I feel like Rhodey deserves a solo film first - which presumably Armor Wars will be?
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 12/12/2023, 8:38 AM
@asherman93 - No, not exactly, nothing there states an Ironheart movie was ever considered by Marvel Studios...

...only that somewhere a likely independant writer without prior contract to do it came up with a script for one that those behind compiling the BlacK List considered good enough to gain attention without any word it ever was considered for being picked up.

However the inclusion of said script on the Black List may be why the character was included in BP:WF and that script the starting point for her story arc in that and/or her show but likely end up VERY different from that initial pitch.

However it is possible the supporting role in a film and upcoming show could be the required setting the groundwork for directly bringin said script on the black list to the big screen but nothing in the article to say that is so.
FinnishDude
FinnishDude - 12/12/2023, 8:19 AM
I would love a biopic about Lee & Kirby or the early days of Marvel in general, but it would require getting very impartial, yet talented crew making it, since so far every book and documentary on the subject has been extremely biased one way or another (either giving all the credits to Stan, which clearly isn't what happened, or talking about him as a moron, who contributed nothing, which honestly isn't a fair reading either).
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 12/12/2023, 10:12 AM
@FinnishDude - From what I can discern, an impartial telling of that story would absolutely cast Lee in a negative light. He certainly deserves a lot the credit he gets, but he also gets more credit than he deserves.
Blergh
Blergh - 12/12/2023, 9:34 AM
Neat idea although I’m still trying to get a hold of a solid recording of “Turn Off the Dark”.
The musical was such a bomb that DVD sales could have been a good way to make some returns.
Hope I’ll get my hands on one
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 12/12/2023, 10:11 AM
Both Excelsior! and Boy Falls From Sky would be a great way for Disney/Marvel to "own" their dirty laundry. But, yeah, the required level of self awareness and humility is clearly lacking in the current regime.
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 12/12/2023, 11:49 AM
Took me a long read before I realized it was a movie documenting the musical production, not an adaptation of the musical. Could be fun.

As for Excelsior,I could see it happen. Disney+ recently put up a documentary about Stan Lee, including that very heated discussion with Kirby. Don't see why a movie couldn't happen
NinnesMBC
NinnesMBC - 12/12/2023, 5:57 PM
So basically this film documenting the up and downs of that Spider-Man Broadway production would be like that miniseries from last year called The Offer about how the movie The Godfather was made. I'd be down to watch that.

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