Ansel Elgort joins the cast of Steven Spielberg's West Side Story
Oh baby, after an extensive casting search, Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story has their male lead.
The Hollywood Reporter reports Baby Driver’s Ansel Elgort will play West Side Story’s gang leader-turned-lover, Tony Wyzek.
Rumors of a Spielberg helmed West Side Story first surfaced back in 2014 where Spielberg admittedly dreamt of adapting Arthur Laurents musical “for decades” but let the process simmer for the better part of 15 years to officially land the rights.
Elgort’s casting marks the first of many West Side characters to be cast, including the object of Tony’s affection, Maria, previously portrayed by Broadway’s Carol Lawrence and Hollywood’s adaptation co-starring Natalie Wood. To complicate matters, Maria’s current lover and fiancee “Chino” happens to represent Tony’s rival gang, The Sharks. And Maria’s older brother Bernardo also happens to be the Sharks lead dog.
Oscar nominated and Tony award-winning writer Tony Kushner (Lincoln) has been tapped to write Spielberg’s adaptation based on Robert Wise's 1961 Best Picture West Side Story which was adapted from Arthur Laurents 1957’s original Broadway musical.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Elgort’s casting now puts West Side Story on track for a summer 2019 production start.
It will be interesting to see who Spielberg recruits given the physical and vocal demands West Side Story commands. We know Elgort can dance and he has obviously can sing. Needless to say this casting decision feels like an awesome no-brainer.
West Side Story is a timeless story that, given the right touch, can absolutely be turned into gold. And Spielberg is just the creative genius to make that happen.
