Julie Taymor - Taymor Steps Down As Spider-man Director, U2 Stars Writing New Music

Taymor will remain part of the creative team behind Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark but she will no longer continue her duties as director, according to producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J. Harris, who announced her exit on Wednesday (09Mar11).

The duo state: "Julie's previous commitments mean that past March 15th, she cannot work the 24/7 (schedule) necessary to make the changes in the production in order to be ready for our opening."

The Boy From Oz director Philip William Mckinley has been recruited to "implement new staging" while the beleaguered production is overhauled.

As a result of the changes, the official open date has been postponed from 15 March (11) to sometime in early summer (11).

Meanwhile, U2 stars Bono and The Edge, who composed the show's music and lyrics, are going back to the drawing board to write "a couple of new songs we are very very excited about putting into the mix."

The rockers add: "We are confident (the show) will reach its full potential and when it does, it will open."

The production has been blighted by numerous problems, including spiralling costs, ongoing delays and serious injuries to the cast.