Spidey musical over?

I, along with quite a few other people out there, immediately cringed when they heard that Spider-Man was headed to Broadway via a big rock musical with songs by U2. I thought it was one of those terrible ideas that would float around but, happily, never come to fruition. But Marvel and director Julie Taymor seemed committed and the project continued with previews set to begin in February. Now it’s looking though like we may never see Spidey sashay his webbed ass on stage.

Last week there were reports that the $45 million production was in desperate need of cash and had been temporarily shut down in order to pull in some extra bucks. Today the New York Post is reporting that the actors that had signed on to the film, most prominently Evan Rachel Wood and Alan Cumming, have been released from their contracts allowing them to book other work. The official line from Marvel continues to be that “production will begin previews on Feb. 25, 2010” but things are definitely looking bleak. And while it’s unfortunate for the people who’ll be out of a job, I’m not shedding a tear that this won’t see the light of day.