Even in the golden age of both musicals and remakes, Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of West Side Story is reason to get excited. Today, 20th Century Fox released the first still from the blockbuster production, featuring Ansel Elgort and newcomer Rachel Zegler as star-crossed lovers Tony and Maria. Standing behind them on the mean streets of 1950s New York? Key members of the Jets and the Sharks, looking equal parts stylish and menacing.
While the film is only due out at the end of 2020, anticipation is already building – and with good reason. Spielberg has always dreamed of adapting the classic Broadway hit, written by Arthur Laurents as a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet. No wonder, then, that the Oscar-winning director has assembled an all-star team for the project, with Pulitzer Prize-winner Tony Kushner in charge of the script and Tony Award-winner Justin Peck developing the choreography.
Even more exciting, however, is the cast itself. The original film had the Russian-American Natalie Wood take on the role of the Puerto-Rican Maria, while Greek-American George Chakiris played Bernardo. In an attempt to correct that injustice, Spielberg considered more than 30,000 members of the Latinx community for the role of the young lover before ultimately casting Zegler, a 17-year-old high schooler with no previous experience.
Meanwhile, Broadway favourite David Alvarez (Billy Elliot: The Musical) will take on the part of her older brother and the leader of the Sharks. Best of all? Rita Moreno, who won an Oscar for her role as Anita in the 1961 film, is both executive producing and starring as a gender-flipped version of the character Doc. All that’s missing is a Lin Manuel-Miranda cameo to make this the biggest musical event in decades.
Originally published on British Vogue
Editor
Hayley MaitlandCredit
Header image: 20th Century Fox