Is it April 1st? http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=109544

Marvel Studios has confirmed that plans are underway to produce a Broadway musical based on Marvel’s ever popular Super Hero, Spider-Man. Produced by Hello Entertainment/David Garfinkle, Martin McCallum, Marvel Entertainment, and SONY Pictures Entertainment (billing in formation), the musical will be directed by Tony Award-winner Julie Taymor with U2’s Bono and The Edge creating new music and lyrics for the project. A reading is scheduled to take place this summer. No dates for a Broadway opening have been confirmed at this time.

The Spider-Man musical will mark the first time a Marvel character has been the subject of a show on Broadway. In addition to co-producing the show, Hello Entertainment is arranging all financing for the project.

"Marvel continues to look to every entertainment medium to support the enduring popularity of our Super Heroes, and we are thrilled with the talent on board. The all star creative team -- led by Julie Taymor, Bono and The Edge -- is second to none and we are certain this project will delight fans of Spider-Man and new audiences alike," said David Maisel, Chairman, Marvel Studios, whose previous Broadway credits include spearheading the 1999 Tony Award-winning Best Musical Fosse.

:cringe:

This will make the LOTR musical look like a roaring success.

Ah, yes, I think you are correct Dave. Singing/dancing superheroes trump singing/dancing hobbits any day.

Although I am looking forward to Aunt May's ragtime number.

Didn't they do Captain America: The Musical?

I remember the ads with a casting call for Bucky in Marble books in the early '90s.

Maybe it wasn't on Broadway.

I'm still waiting for The Planet of the Apes musical.............even though it was a Simpsons joke,it would make a lot of money.

I saw that over at newsarama this morning, and pretended it didn't exist. Please join me in this.

If they don't use the '60s cartoon theme, I'm not seeing it.

I am going opening night, front row!

Bono expresses high hopes for Spiderman musical
01/10/2007 - 08:55:47

U2 rocker Bono is confident the Spiderman musical he is currently working on will dazzle audiences, because it will be "something the likes of which no-one has seen or heard".

The singer is creating the Spiderman production with his bandmate The Edge and director Julie Taymor. Bono has a cameo role in her new film 'Across The Universe'.

The U2 stars and Taymor are currently hunting for a New York theatre big enough to house their project, and Bono is already warning audiences to expect the unexpected.

"If we pull off what we're trying, it will be something the likes of which no-one has seen or heard," he said.

"It should be a hallucinogenic experience for theatregoers. You have the visual energy she (Taymor) brings. The myth of the arachnid and the elasticity of these characters - you can turn theatre upside down."

Bono and The Edge plan to bring a wide range of music to the production.

"We've got some punk rock in there and some beautiful opera," Bono added.

"The myth of the arachnid and the elasticity of the characters"?

Sounds to me like someone's already enjoying a hallucinogenic experience. Is this guy nuts or what?

This will probably suck, but I'll try to get tickets.

There is no way in hell I'll be able to get there to see this.

But I want to.

What rhymes with Thwipp?

You've got to be kidding me...

And how will he sing with his mask on?

Facepaint or half mask.

I'm a big U2 fan but sometimes Bono needs a big kick in his pretentious ass! Spider-man the fucking musical ... geezus!!

Why don't they just piss on the character even more?

Unless I'd read the first post, I'd guess that JMS said that.

To quote Dan Sehane quoting me, fuck Straczinski.

Update!

NEW YORK - The much talked about Spider-Man musical might make its way onto Broadway next year, according to Marvel Studios Chairman David Maisel.

The production, based on the popular comic book and movie character, has been in the works for the past three and a half years, Maisel said Monday at the Thomas Weisel Consumer Conference in New York.

The studio previously announced that it tapped Bono and The Edge of rock group U2 for the show's music and Julie Taymor of "The Lion King" musical to direct.

Maisel is no stranger to Broadway himself, having worked on "Fosse," which won the Tony for best musical in 1999.

The Internet has been abuzz about the web slinger's possible leap to the stage since last year, with casting call notices sparking fervent chatter. A move to Broadway would put Marvel in the company of Walt Disney Co., which has been very successful in extending brands such as "Mary Poppins," "The Little Mermaid" and "The Lion King" into theatrical productions.

Marvel Entertainment Inc. recently strengthened its financial position by creating its own film studio, which has enabled it to keep more of the revenue from movies based on its popular characters. Last month the New York-based company said its second-quarter profit surged 61 per cent on pre-sales of the movies "Iron Man" and "The Incredible Hulk."

A fourth instalment in the Spider-Man movie franchise is said to be hitting theatres in 2011.

I hope they do this. I really, really never want to see it as long as I live, but if I knew that it actually existed, I'd laugh my head off.