In Fine Print of ‘Spider-Man’ Settlement, Taymor Comes Out on Top

The earlier credits, left, and the newer ones.

Julie Taymor is back on top.

As a result of last week’s settlement in the legal battle over Broadway’s “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” Ms. Taymor’s directing credit on the musical has been enhanced - and it is now listed above the credit for Philip Wm. McKinley, who replaced Ms. Taymor after its producers fired her in March 2011. Like the legal settlement, the new credits represent a final chapter to a long and twisting history.

When “Spider-Man” began performances in late 2010, the credits included standard theater language: the show was “directed by” Ms. Taymor. Once Mr. McKinley came aboard and made changes to lighten up the show and make it more commercially appealing as the producers wanted, the wording changed: Mr. McKinley was listed in the playbill and elsewhere as “creative consultant,” with Ms. Taymor dropped below him and credited with “original direction.”

As Ms. Taymor and the producers began tangling in court over her back pay and contractual rights as a director and scriptwriter, Mr. McKinley’s credit was beefed up further: “Spider-Man” was “directed by” Mr. McKinley, followed by Ms. Taymor’s credit for “original direction.” (At one point, Ms. Taymor’s credit and photo were removed from the musical’s Web site altogether.)

The settlement changes that. In the Broadway production’s playbill and marketing materials going forward, Ms. Taymor will be listed first with the credit of “direction by” - a fuller tip of the cap than the “original direction” phrasing - followed by Mr. McKinley with “additional direction by.”

A person familiar with the settlement, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the terms were confidential, said the new billing was important to Ms. Taymor because she is proud of her work on “Spider-Man” and had spent years creating it with her onetime friends, Bono and the Edge of U2, the show’s composers. The wording and order of the credits have no bearing on the amount of money that Ms. Taymor stands to make from the settlement, which could amount to millions of dollars if “Spider-Man” goes on to wide popularity in productions around the world.

A spokesman for the production declined to comment on Thursday. Mr. McKinley, for his part, said he was fine with the credit change.“I’m just glad the parties have came together, recognized everyone’s contribution, and now we can focus on the future of the show in New York and hopefully elsewhere,” he said by telephone.