Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’ Starts Casting

Last week it was reported that Steven Spielberg was weighing “Indiana Jones 5” and “West Side Story” as his next films, and considering the former isn’t due in cinemas until July 10, 2020 there was some chatter that the filmmaker might try and squeeze something else in first. The director is no stranger to moving quickly, as evidenced by “The Post,” which he hustled in front cameras and into cinemas at a breakneck pace. However, it now looks like that Spielberg is really trying to get “West Side Story” off the ground while he can.

Journalist Mark Harris revealed the casting call for the musical on Twitter, that also confirms the movie is being written by  Tony Kushner (“Lincoln,” “Munich“). Yep, the lead roles of Tony, Maria, Anita and Bernardo are all up for grabs, which perhaps suggests Spielberg isn’t necessarily going to go with name actors to star in his picture. However, before everyone freaks out (and there were plenty of people appalled that Spielberg would dare do another version of the classical musical), this project still might not happen.

Prior to making “The Post,” the director had planned to shoot “The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara” starring Mark Rylance and Oscar Isaac after “Ready Player One.” But among the factors which ultimately kiboshed the pic, was Spielberg’s unsuccessful attempt to find the crucial, young male lead for the drama, set in 1858, about a young Jewish boy who is taken from his home, raised Catholic, and becomes a priest. So while he might be putting out the feelers for “West Side Story,” it’s still away to go before it’s a greenlit movie.

Still, the casting sheet does indicate that Spielberg — who is a huge, massive fan of the original Broadway production — wants to give “West Side Story” a real try. We’ll soon find out if he gets the pieces in place. [via Collider]