Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
"Superhuman" Spidey Producers Strike Back Against Julie Taymor
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jan 17, 2012
Modified Jan 17, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jan 17, 2012
Modified Jan 17, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Now that the show is making bank, the gloves are off in the fight between Julie Taymor and the producers of Spider-Man: The Song That Never Ends Turn Off The Dark. Remember how last year the fired director sued for more money? Well, today producers fired back and meow! According to them Taymor's suit is simply "an attempt to put Taymor in the same position she would have been had she fulfilled her obligations under her agreement and actually written a book for the Spider-Man Musical that could be opened on Broadway."
According to the producers, Lion King director Taymor refused "to fulfill her contractual obligations, declaring that she could not and would not do the jobs that she was contracted to do." And it goes on. They say that although "many producers would have simply given up on the production" when the shit hit the fanactors started dropping, the producers then "engaged in superhuman efforts to save the Musical." (A PR guy somewhere is getting toasted for that one tonight).
And it doesn't stop there! The producers lambast Taymor for trying to claim copyright on the show's story:
any similarities...exist by virtue of the fact that they are both based on the same pre-existing works in which Taymor cannot claim copyrights, including, but not limited to, the Spider-Man comic books and the Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 films, which originated all of the main characters in the works at issue in this case, their settings, the Spider-Man origin story premise, and the plot elements that appear in the works."
And just for good measure they give a taste of a zombie plot-point so batshit it didn't even make it into the 1.0 version of the musical! Apparently in Taymor's original treatment "Spider-Man bites Mary Jane turning her into a Spider-Woman, who then attacks [the show's then villain] Arachne." Imagine!
Oh, and they also today filed a antitrust lawsuit against the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, Inc., LOH, Inc. and Julie Taymor.
Meanwhile, while we are on the topic of special-effects heavy musicals popular with people unfamiliar with English, The Phantom of the Opera is set to play its 10,000th performance next month. On the plus side? There are still no new plans to bring the Phantom sequel, Love Never Dies, to Broadway. Always look on the bright side of life, people!
Tagged
julie taymor
phantom
phantom of the opera
spider-man
spider-man the musical
spider man turn off the dark
Garth Johnston
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
Thanks to Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian, Timothée Chalamet and more, the rideshare program is having a moment.
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Published Oct 8, 2026
Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?
If you're playing tourist in your own town, this is an in-demand option.
By
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?
If you're playing tourist in your own town, this is an in-demand option.
By
James Ramsay
What happens when NYC kids take lessons in rock music? Really good bands.
By
Jayson Greene
Inside a photographer's journey to visit every neighborhood in New York City
By
Sonia Rao
Banned books and Winnie the Pooh: October in NYC libraries
By
Alec Hamilton
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .