After several months looking for actors to star in the new 'West Side Story' adaptation, directed by Steven Spielberg, they have finally found the ideal actor for at least one of the starring roles: Ansel Elgort.
The 'Baby Driver', actor will play the part of Tony in Spielberg's version of the legendary Broadway musical. This Romeo and Juliette style tale tells the story of the forbidden love between Tony, a young member of the Jets gang, and Maria, the daughter of the leader of the rival gang, the Sharks.
The choice of Elgort puts an end to the year of searching; in fact, the casting process was becoming so difficult for producers that they almost considered cancelling the project, as happened with the director's other project, 'The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara'.
The Oscar nominated Tony Kushner, who worked with Spielberg in 'Munich' and 'Lincoln', is making final touches to the script, and the film will be produced by Spielberg himself, Kevin McCollum, and Kristie Macosko Krieger.
"Maria, Maria, Maria"
With the 'Fault in our Stars' actor on board, everything seems to be going ahead smoothly and the film's production will begin next summer as planned. But the question remains: what about Maria? As of yet there is no hint of who might be playing the role of the young female protagonist in the film. In his original film Spielberg opted for unknown actors for both roles: could that be the case this time, at least for Maria?
