Look out, Kirsten Dunst! IESB reports that Evan Rachel Wood will play the role of Mary Jane Watson in Spider-Man: The Musical, which is set to debut on Broadway sometime in 2010.
No stranger to musical theater, Wood recently starred in "Across The Universe," a "jukebox musical" based on the songs of the Beatles. Not coincidentally, that film was directed by Julie Taymor, who is also directing the Spidey production. At the moment, all signs seem to be pointing to Wood's "Universe" co-star Jim Sturgess playing the role of your friendly neighborhood wall-crawler, but the British actor has yet to publicly confirm his participation. However, he has workshopped the material with Wood and Taymor in New York, so it seems rather likely.
The musical, which is based upon the popular superhero created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, will feature original music and lyrics written by Bono and the Edge from U2. Though the combination of the beloved web-slinger and the world's biggest rock band may be enough to push the production to instant blockbuster status, "Spider-Man: The Musical" is still a high-stakes gamble for all involved.
First and foremost, there's not much precedent for colorful superhero action meshing with live musical theater, so if the play doesn't hit the mark, it could very well end up being an expensive and embarrassing flop for the producers, given the massive budget for "Spider-Man: The Musical." On the other hand, if they hit it out the park, we could see Batman and Iron Man -- and, dare we say, Wolverine -- belting out their own show tunes in no time.
Are you excited to see a superhero stage musical? Do you think Evan Rachel Wood will be a good Mary Jane? Let us know!