Producers of Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark have agreed to pay sacked director Julie Taymor hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties.

She sued them after she was fired from the Broadway musical in March, claiming she was not compensated for her work.

The dismissal came after delays, injuries to the cast and poor reviews.

She will be paid an estimated $10,000 (£6,300) a week in director royalties from the start of previews in November 2010 until the end of its Broadway run.

Currently, there are no plans for the production, which features music by U2's Bono and The Edge, to come to an end.

The settlement does not affect separate court actions over Ms Taymor's role as a creator of the musical and co-author of its book, in which she and the show's producers have sued each other.

"The litigation between us is over," said Karen Azenberg, president of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) union, which represented Ms Taymor.

"We are hopeful that any remaining issues between the producer and Ms Taymor regarding her role as author can also be resolved to the satisfaction of all."

'Entertainment experience'

The show's producers, Michael Cohl and Jeremiah Harris, of 8 Legged Productions, said: "We are very happy to have reached an amicable compromise with the SDC that will allow us all to move on.

"Now we can focus our energies on providing an amazing entertainment experience for our audience who have come to see the show in record numbers and made it a tremendous hit."

Producers had hoped they would only have to give Ms Taymor royalties for the period from November 2010 to March 2011, instead of paying her for the duration of the show's run.

However, a compensation package with Ms Taymor - who won a Tony Award for The Lion King - has now been agreed for any subsequent productions or tours of the show outside New York.

This week's settlement also grants Taymor separate "collaborator" royalties for November 2010 to March 2011.

She has agreed to defer payment until the Broadway show recoups the $75m (£47.4m) outlay, which makes it the most expensive production in Broadway history.

The producers also withdrew claims that Ms Taymor had breached her contract as director.

Sales record

Elaborate stunts in the show, which had more than 180 preview performances, led to cast members being injured. Early reviews were resoundingly negative.

Producers Mr Cohl and Mr Harris criticised Ms Taymor for failing to follow "the original, family friendly Spider-Man story" saying she had instead "insisted on developing a dark, disjointed and hallucinogenic musical involving suicide, sex and death".

After Ms Taymor's departure, Philip William McKinley, director of The Boy From Oz, starring Hugh Jackman, was brought in to helm the musical.

The reworked show, which opened on 14 June, routinely takes more than $1.3m (£820,000) each week

At the end of December, it broke the record for the highest single-week takings of any show in Broadway history.

It took $2.9m (£1.8m) over nine performances at its Foxwoods Theater home, according to The Broadway League.

Source;bbc