Adam Lambert may or may not end up as the winner of this season of American Idol, but even if he doesn't, he has a shot at making it on Broadway. In fact, as casting director Bernie Telsey told MTV, Lambert was even on the short list to play Peter Parker in Julie Taymor's Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.

"We started working on Spider-Man a year and a half ago, and [Lambert is] someone we know because we cast him in Wicked and knew he had that kind of range," Telsey said of Lambert. Lambert is no stranger to the stage, having spent 17 years there, including time spent acting opposite Val Kilmer in the 2004 musical version of The Ten Commandments. "I've not seen him do those styles as much as I've seen him now on American Idol. And he was someone we looked after about seven months ago, but he told us then that he was already in the American Idol process and not available. So he's definitely somebody that we would have auditioned, just because we know him and see him for a lot of shows. ... Let him go win, and then he can come and replace Spider-Man a year after the run. He'd be great."

Telsey clarified that because of Lambert's commitments to American Idol (both recording and touring), Lambert couldn't jump back into the Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark mix right now, but he did say that he'd happily consider Lambert for "a bunch of shows", especially now that he has such widespread name recognition.

Lambert wouldn't be the first former Idol to make it to Broadway - the list includes Clay Aiken (Monty Python's Spamalot), Constantine Maroulis (Rock of Ages), Fantasia (The Color Purple), Taylor Hicks (Grease), Diana DeGarmo, Ace Young and Frenchie Davis. Telsey explained that Broadway producers watch American Idol closely to snatch up losers from the show.

"We watch every week to see who's going to lose so we can cast them in a Broadway show," Telsey said. "Seriously, because they're talented people who just didn't have agents. ... Look at Fantasia. She blew the house down in Color Purple. ... What was so wonderful about her in that show is she doesn't even sing until the end of Act 1. And the whole time you're watching, asking, 'Who is this incredible actress onstage?,' and she had never done it."