After several months of waiting, the first trailer for the new film West Side Story directed by Steven Spielberg is finally here. The trailer was unveiled on April 25, 2021 during the 93rd Academy Awards.
The film West Side Story is released in theaters on December 8, 2021 in France and then on December 10 in the United States.
60 years to the day after the first film
West Side Story by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins was released in theaters in December 1961. The film won the Oscars with 10 awards before achieving incredible theatrical success. It is based on the musical by Leonard Bernstein which also enjoyed immense success on Broadway from 1957.
60 years after the first film, it is now Steven Spielberg who is in charge of telling this beautiful love story. You can check out the first photos of the film here.
By the way, a little anecdote: did you know that West Side Story played for 4 years, 8 months and 10 days at George V cinema in Paris?
A dream cast
In 2018, a casting notice was published on social media for the main roles. The young Rachel Zegler, who was 16, got the part of Maria among more than 30,000 candidates. She is joined by Hollywood and Broadway regulars: Ansel Elgort, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist as well as Brian D'Arcy James, Corey Stoll, etc…. You can find the full cast directly on IMDB.
And a little nod to the original film: Rita Moreno, who won an Oscar for the role of Anita, appears in this new version. This time, she plays Valentina and leaves the role of Anita to Ariana DeBose.