Finally! The first official trailer for Steven Spielberg’s version of West Side Story.
Back in 2018, reports came in that famed director Steven Spielberg was working on a remake of the classic movie musical West Side Story. At the time, he had cast Baby Driver star Ansel Elgort as the lead.
In addition, the film boasted the support of Rita Moreno, the original Anita who is now playing a female version of Doc named Valentina, and Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim. Originally, the 1957 Broadway musical was written by Arthur Laurents with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Sondheim. But this remake film is using Pulitzer prize winner Tony Kushner’s (of Angels in America) adaption of the musical.
Again, we now get a first official look at the film. And while it may be a teaser trailer, the one and a half minute video gives us a nice idea of what Sondheim is going for with this project. This means first looks at some of the cast including Rachel Zegler, Ansel Elgort, The Prom’s Ariana DeBose, and Moreno. Speaking of Moreno, the trailer includes the sound of her singing “Somewhere” from the musical’s soundtrack.
The 20th Century film originally finished production in October 2019 with the initial plan to release in 2020. But, the coronavirus pandemic led to West Side Story’s delay. Now, the movie is scheduled to release in theaters on December 10.
“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,” Spielberg wrote in a letter when production wrapped. “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.”
That’s the sound of “Tonight”, repeatedly, not “Somewhere”.