U2 Talk ‘Spider-Man’ Musical/Opera, Peter Parker Found And Is More Of A ‘Kurt Cobain Slacker’?

U2’s Bono and The Edge recently took to discussing Julie Taymor’s upcoming “Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark” musical — which looks like it’s going forward gung-ho despite rumors of financial problems — which the two have written music for.

“It touches on opera, it touches on rock ‘n’ roll. There are some real character driven songs as well, very unusual song types for us,” The Edge explained to the BBC. “It is a new challenge. The thing is we don’t really like musicals. Most musicals are really pants. They’re really not very cool. It is much more like opera than a straight musical. We’re actually not calling it a musical for that reason because we don’t want to put people off.”

Bono, meanwhile, had much praise for Evan Rachel Wood, who has been attached to play Mary-Jane for quite some time. “She’s the greatest actor of her generation, she’s the one to watch,” said Bono. “She happens to sing like a bird, it’s like a true voice. She’s a very pure spirit and a very bright mind and she brings the part of [Mary-Jane] to life really.”

A question that has lingered throughout the production’s development, however, has been who will don the Spiderman costume. “Our Peter Parker is much more…not Kurt Cobain, but a kind of slacker, a more kind of shy sort of guy,” The Edge added. “We made one rule for ourselves though that we would never have Spider-Man singing. A guy singing in tights can’t happen.”

Interestingly, rumor has it actor/musician Reeve Carney — who will next be seen in Taymor’s “The Tempest” alongside fellow ‘Turn Off The Dark’ star Alan Cumming — has reportedly been officially cast as the web-slinger after being linked to the role earlier this year. Call us crazy but why would one cast an actor/musician if he isn’t going to sing? Perhaps, The Edge simply meant that Spiderman wouldn’t be singing but Peter Parker will? Makes sense. How can he sing with a mask over his face anyway? Carney’s band can be heard over at their myspace and he doesn’t sound half bad.

“Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark” is due to begin previews in February of next year. [BBC/NYDailyNews] Our headline should have been, “Most Musicals Are Really Pants,” the British are hilarious.