Something’s coming, something good.
Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story is snapping into our theaters on December 10, and we just got our first taste with a teaser trailer during the Oscars. The minute-and-a-half preview reveals a dramatic peek at big and bright dance numbers, the new Jets and Sharks, Ansel Elgort as Tony, and newcomer Rachel Zegler as Maria—all while the iconic Rita Moreno sings “Somewhere” in the background.
Loosely inspired by Romeo and Juliet, the Stephen Sondheim musical first debuted on the stage in 1957 and then the silver screen in 1961, with Natalie Wood starring as Maria and Richard Beymer as Tony. Spielberg’s version, featuring a script penned by Tony Kushner (Lincoln, Munich), will arrive 60 years after the original film adaptation.
“This has been a journey without precedence: a joyful, stunning, moving, endlessly surprising encounter with the story and score of one of the world’s greatest musicals,” the director wrote in an open letter after filming wrapped in 2019, per The Hollywood Reporter. “We filmed West Side Story all over New York, Flatbush to Fort Tryon Park. The city lent us its beauty and its energy, and we drew deeply upon its grand multicultural, multifaceted spirit.”
The new West Side Story was supposed to be released last December, but was delayed because of the pandemic. Given the apparent scale of the production, it seems meant to be experienced in a real theater.
News of the project first broke in 2018, when a casting call surfaced online. The ad notably called for Latinx actors in lead roles, departing from some of the white-washed casting in the original film.
“They brought an authenticity,” Spielberg told Vanity Fair of the Latinx performers in the cast. “They brought themselves, and everything they believe and everything about them—they brought that to the work.”
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