West Side Story Preview

20th Century Studios has released the first teaser for the upcoming film adaptation of the 1957 stage musical West Side Story, directed by Steven Spielberg. The screenplay by Tony Kushner and choreography by Justin Peck are based on the original work of Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Jerome Robbins. This new version stars Ansel Elgort (Tony) and Rachel Zegler (Maria) with Ariana DeBose (Anita), David Alvarez (Benardo), Mike Faist (Riff), Josh Andrés Rivera (Chino), Ana Isabelle (Rosalia), Corey Stoll (Lt. Schrank), and Brian d’Arcy James (Sgt. Krupke). Rita Moreno, who won an Oscar for her role as Anita in the 1961 film adaptation, plays Valentina, a reworked version of the character Doc. Originally scheduled to be released Dec. 18, 2020, the pandemic led to the date being pushed back to Dec. 10, 2021, which will coincide with the 60th anniversary of the release of the Oscar-winning 1961 film.