For decades Marvel Comics had the ominous reputation for not just making bad comic book movies, but quite possibly the worst comic book movies. It took them at least a decade to change the hearts and minds of fans with some serious blockbuster films. Now with a track record that is far more respectable, Marvel threatened to take us back to those dark days with something atrocious, a musical. Not just any musical but a Spider-Man musical. That’s right Marvel threatened to tear down and destroy all the good will they have garnered by taking their flagship character to Broadway. I’ll wait until you finish cursing…
Before you start sharpening your pitch forks or clawing your own eyes out let me give you the good news. The producers of the show that was written by Bono and The Edge of U2 fame and directed by Julie Taymor (who directed Lion King) apparently have run out of money to stage the already costly play.
The show costs a reported 45 million dollars to put on, add to that a weekly running cost of nearly $900,000 and it’s easy to see where things could go wrong. This is according to the New York Post who also state that it would take five years worth of sold out shows just for the production to break even. The actors hired for this potential abomination have all been released from their contracts, and the crew has been put on ‘hiatus’ which is French for ‘find a new job.’ It was reported that the crew hurried to the bank to cash their checks out of fear that they would bounce.
According to the Post it is possible that inexperience lead to this disaster of sorts. Marvel, Sony, and a Chicago Lawyer named David Garfinkle acted as producers and it’s been said that Garfinkle had almost no Broadway experience. All that lead to the closing of the doors for the bloated play and its cast.