Steven Spielberg is not one of those filmmakers who sits around waiting for projects to develop. There’s rarely a year that passes where he isn’t working on something, and across the past twelve months or so, he simultaneously shot, edited, and released “The Post,” all while juggling post-production on “Ready Player One.” So it goes, the director is now looking to fill up his calendar with something new (or two).
Deadline reports that Spielberg is eyeballing “Indiana Jones 5” and “West Side Story” as his next films. As always, there’s a few caveats. The next Indy movie is currently slated to open on July 10, 2020 so there’s some time, and Spielberg is keeping a window open to squeeze something else in first. Essentially, if another magnetic script like “The Post” falls in his lap, don’t be surprised if he mobilizes his team and knocks it out fast. As for “West Side Story,” the redo of the musical is something Spielberg has been thinking about for a few years now.
” ‘West Side Story’ is one of my favourite Broadway musicals and one of the greatest pieces of musical literature, my goodness, one of the greatest scores and some of the greatest lyrics ever written for a musical so just let me put it this way: it’s on my mind,” the director said in 2014.
One project that’s no longer on his mind is “The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara,” which had Mark Rylance and Oscar Isaac attached to the Tony Kushner (“Lincoln,” “Munich“) -penned adaptation of David Kertzer‘s book, set in 1858, about a young Jewish boy who is taken from his home, raised Catholic, and becomes a priest. The project was initially going to follow “Ready Player One,” but “The Post” swooped in and took its place. More importantly, Spielberg apparently had trouble casting the young male lead and seems to have cooled on it. Easy come, easy go I guess.
Some decisions will likely be made soon, as Spielberg won’t be wanting to twiddle his thumbs at home after “Ready Player One” opens on March 30th.