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Steven Spielberg's West Side Story Is in Theaters Now

Photo credit: James Devaney - Getty Images
Photo credit: James Devaney - Getty Images

Hollywood is having a real revival moment, but this is one remake we can get behind: the Sharks and the Jets are heading back to the big screen, this time, in an adaptation of West Side Story from director Steven Spielberg, who has been in love with the story since he was a child.

“Our entire home was festooned with classical musical albums, and I grew up surrounded by classical music. West Side Story was actually the first piece of popular music our family ever allowed into the home. I absconded with it—this was the cast album from the 1957 Broadway musical—and just fell completely in love with it as a kid. West Side Story has been that one haunting temptation that I have finally given in to,” he said.

Here's what we know about the film so far:

West Side Story will premiere in December of 2021.

While it was originally slated to premiere around Christmastime in 2020, the date was pushed back due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. It will now reach theaters on December 10, 2021.

Watch a new teaser trailer for the film, which includes some brand new footage, above, and the first full trailer below:

Here are the first photos from the film:

Photographers caught David Alvarez (the movie's Bernardo) and Ariana DeBose (who will play Anita) shooting a dance sequence in Harlem in July of 2019.

Photo credit: James Devaney - Getty Images
Photo credit: James Devaney - Getty Images

See an additional sneak peek of Tony, Maria, and the Sharks and the Jets below:

Photo credit: Fox
Photo credit: Fox

And here's your another look at DeBose as Anita:

Photo credit: 20th Century Fox
Photo credit: 20th Century Fox

Maria will be played by a relative unknown.

Rachel Zegler, a high school student from New Jersey will play the iconic role. Broadway alums DeBose and Alvarez will play Anita and Bernardo, and Josh Andrés Rivera will play Chino.

In early 2018, a casting call went out. "Must be able to sing," it reportedly read. "Dance experience a plus."

It also indicated they are looking for to cast a caucasian actor as Tony, Latina actresses as Maria and Anita, and a Latino actor as Bernardo, all between the ages of 15 and 25. This marks a much-needed change from the original film, in which Natalie Wood, an actress of Russian descent, played Maria.

“I am so thrilled to be playing the iconic role of Maria alongside this amazing cast,” Zegler said. "West Side Story was the first musical I encountered with a Latina lead character. As a Colombian-American, I am humbled by the opportunity to play a role that means so much to the Hispanic community." Tony will be played by Ansel Elgort.

Dance Mom star Maddie Ziegler will play a member of the Jets.

Other cast members include Broadway star Mike Faist, who will play Riff, and dancer Ana Isabelle, who will play Rosalia.

Rita Moreno will return to the story in a new role.

Moreno, who won an Oscar for her performance as Anita in the 1961 film, will play a new character in Spielberg's adaptation. "Never in my wildest dreams did I see myself revisiting this seminal work," she told Deadline. "And to be asked by Steven Spielberg to participate is simply thrilling! Then to work together with the brilliant playwright, Tony Kushner - what a glorious stew! I am tingling!"

She'll be taking on the role of Valentina, which Variety describes as "a remade version of the character of Doc, the owner of the corner store in which Tony works."

“I simply cannot wait to get on set to work with this group of young actors,” Moreno said. “What an ensemble, and I look forward to passing the baton to this next generation of Sharks!”

She also recently shared some thoughts on the rough draft of the script. “I’ve only read a very, very rough [version] of the script,” Moreno said in a 2019 interview with Sirius XM. “And it’s very rough, meaning tons of stuff is gonna be changed. For instance, [writer] Tony [Kushner] did the Spanish parts with his dictionary Spanish, which was horrific.”

Moreno later shared that she asked Spielberg about it.

"In our conversation on the phone ... I said, ‘Listen, Steven, I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but the Spanish in the script is not terrific."

Fortunately, he assured her that changes would be made. Listen to that whole interview below:

She also offered some invaluable direction to the actors who play the Sharks. Per Vanity Fair:

For one scene, in which the cops arrive to break up a rumble, Moreno thought that the dancers playing the Sharks didn’t quite appreciate how much worse the situation would be for the Puerto Rican boys. “I was using bad language and all that, and I said, ‘You are fucked! You are fucked if they catch you! You don’t have a chance,’” she says. “And they’re all looking at me with big beautiful brown eyes. I said, ‘Talk to each other before you do the scene again! Scare each other!’”

It has some serious source material to live up to.

Originally a 1957 musical with book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, West Side Story is a modern adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, with the action taking place in New York City instead of fair Verona.

Rival gangs the Sharks (made up of Puerto Rican immigrants) and the Jets (whose members are white) take the place of the Capulets and Montagues. Tony, a founder of the Jets, plays the Romeo role, falling in love with Maria, sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks.

The 1961 film version co-directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins starred Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno, and George Chakiris, and won ten Academy Awards.

Here's a taste of that version:

Here's how to watch it.

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