Last week, sources close to Steven Spielberg revealed that the 71-year-old director was eyeing Indiana Jones 5 as his next film and hoped to follow it up with an updated version of West Side Story—one of his personal dream projects.
Thursday, those rumors were confirmed as Cindy Tolan Casting put out an open call for the roles of Tony, Maria, Anita and Bernardo in a remake of the classic musical film. "Must be able to sing,” the casting call says. "Dance experience a plus."
The film will reportedly feature a script written by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Tony Kushner, who previously worked with Spielberg on the Academy Award-winning 2012 film Lincoln. It will follow in the legacy of the classic 1961 film, which won ten Academy Awards—including Best Picture. That movie, of course, was based on the acclaimed play that opened on Broadway in 1957.
Kevin McCollum and Kristie Macosko Krieger have also been attached to the project as producers, according to Playbill.
If you're hoping to brush up on your West Side Story knowledge, the play's original synopsis reads: "West Side Story transposes Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to the gang-ridden streets of 1950s Manhattan, dominated by the Sharks and the Jets. Two teens from the bitter-enemy gangs meet and fall in love at a fateful gym dance." Or you can watch the film's classic "America" scene below.
