Steven Spielberg's career has covered nearly every genre of film conceivable. He's done more than his share of science fiction, action-adventure, and high drama. However, there's one place he's never gone before, that he hopes to soon: the musical. The director has been working for years to get the rights to remake one particular classic musical, and now that he has them, he's looking forward to one day remaking West Side Story.
While Steven Spielberg tends to take his time with his directing projects, recently he's been keeping his plate quite full. Following last year's Bridge of Spies he will be releasing The BFG next month, and has three more films already on the docket for the next three years. Now, according to a profile by The Hollywood Reporter, it looks like his first job after he's done with Indiana Jones 5 in 2019 could be a remake of West Side Story . Apparently, Tony Kushner, the screenwriter and playwright who handled the scripts for Spielberg's Munich, Lincoln, and the upcoming The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, is currently working on West Side Story. Spielberg says he has dreamt of adapting the film "for decades" and that he first attempted to acquire the rights 15 years ago.
West Side Story takes the basic premise of William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet and transplants the action to the upper west side of New York City, circa 1950. The two lead characters, Tony and Maria, fall in love, even though they are members of rival gangs, the Sharks and the Jets. It was previously made into a film in 1961 which won 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
While it may be a little early in the process to start casting Steven Spielberg's version of West Side Story, one actor has already thrown his hat in the ring, though he may or may not have known it. Just last week, Chris Evans told a convention crowd that West Side Story is also a dream project for him. Evans mentioned that the remake has been a long talked about topic in Hollywood, though it's impossible to know if he's specifically aware of Tony Kushner's script or Spielberg's plans to direct. It's possible that Evans is, in fact, very aware, and that this was his polite way of suggesting himself for a part. Steven Spielberg directing Chris Evans in West Side Story? Yes, please.
What do you think of Steven Spielberg directing a major Hollywood musical? If Chris Evans is Tony, who should play Maria? Give us your modern West Side Story dream cast in the comments.
