Evan Rachel Wood 'Spins' on SPIDER-MAN Role to MTV & GQ

Industry circles have buzzed that actress Evan Rachel Wood has been set for the role of "Mary Jane" in the upcoming 'SPIDER-MAN:Turn Off The Dark' musical, but the young actress and star of the new Woody Allen release, 'Whatever Works' and the recent Oscar nominated The Wrestler revealed to MTV News that all is not set in 'comic book' stone.

"Nothing's definite yet, but that's the plan," Wood told MTV News when asked whether she'll play the role of Mary Jane. "I'm doing everything I can to make sure that happens. I think it's going to happen."

Wood's involvement in the "Spider-Man" musical seems less solid now than it was a month ago, but the actress knew enough about the project to share some insights about the production with the folks at MTV. "Julie Taymor is bringing it to a whole different level," said Wood. "It's just like with ‘The Lion King.' You wonder what she's going to do with ‘The Lion King,' and then you see it and it's beyond belief. ['Spider-Man'] is not going to be a singing guy in tights - it's more like a rock and roll circus show." To read more from Wood on the show click here.

Evan Rachel Wood is also featured in a sexy pictorial in GQ this month, during the brief chat for the feature she also hints at playing Mary Jane in 'SPIDER-MAN:Turn Off The Dark', but doesn't comeright out and say she has been cast, go here for the pics and scoop.

SPIDER-MAN, Turn Off the Dark, will open on Thursday, February 18, 2010 at Broadway's Hilton Theatre, 213 West 42nd Street (preview performances will begin Saturday, January 16, 2010).

Directed by Tony Award-winner Julie Taymor with 22-time Grammy® Award-winning Bono and The Edge creating new music and lyrics, SPIDER-MAN will be written by Julie Taymor and Glen Berger.

SPIDER-MAN is produced by HELLO Entertainment/David Garfinkle, Martin McCallum, Marvel Entertainment/David Maisel, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Jeremiah Harris.

SPIDER-MAN is produced in association with Omneity Entertainment/Richard Weinberg, the Mayerson/Gould/Hauser/Tysoe Group, Patricia Lambrecht and Jam Theatricals/S2BN Entertainment.

Julie Taymor is best known as director of one of the most successful musicals in Broadway history, Disney's The Lion King and the film Across The Universe. Bono and The Edge are half of one of the most popular rock bands of all time, U2, who will be making their Broadway debut with SPIDER-MAN.

Drawing from over forty years of Marvel comic books for inspiration, SPIDER-MAN spins a new take on the mythic tale of a young man propelled from a modest rowhouse in Queens to the sky-scraping spire of the Chrysler Building, the bustling offices of the Daily Bugle, through the dizzying canyons of Manhattan, to new vistas never before seen. The musical follows the story of teenager Peter Parker, whose unremarkable life is turned upside-down-literally-when he's bitten by a genetically altered spider and wakes up the next morning clinging to his bedroom ceiling. This bullied science-geek-suddenly endowed with astonishing powers-soon learns, however, that with great power comes great responsibility as villains test not only his physical strength but also his strength of character. Spider-Man's battles will hurtle The Audience through an origin story both recognizable and unexpected--yielding new characters as well as familiar faces--until a final surprising confrontation casts a startling new light on this hero's journey.

The principal creative and design team for SPIDER-MAN includes Daniel Ezralow, Choreographer (Across the Universe, The Green Bird); George Tsypin, Sets (The Magic Flute, The Little Mermaid); Eiko Ishioka, Costumes (Academy Award® for Bram Stoker's Dracula, Tony Award® nomination for M. Butterfly, the opening ceremonies for the Beijing Olympics); Donald Holder, Lighting (Tony® Awards for The Lion King, South Pacific); Jonathan Deans, Sound (Fosse, The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil, Young Frankenstein, Ragtime); and Teese Gohl, Musical Supervisor (Across the Universe, Frida). Additional members of the SPIDER-MAN creative team will be announced at a later date.

Group tickets now on sale. Single tickets will go on sale June, 2009. For more information about group tickets, visit the Spider-Man website at www.SpidermanOnBroadway.com or by calling 1-800-Broadway.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.