A first still brings Steven Spielberg's 'West Side Story' to life

A first look at Steven Spielberg’s new bigs screen take on West Side Story is now online. Check out the debut still below for a look at a cast that includes Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, Ana Isabelle, Corey Stoll, Brian d’Arcy James, Curtiss Cook and Rita Moreno.

West Side Story is produced and directed by Spielberg from a script by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner. The film has been adapted for the screen from the original 1957 Broadway musical, which was written by Arthur Laurents with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and concept, direction and choreography by Jerome Robbins. Tony Award® winner Justin Peck will choreograph the musical numbers in the film. Also leading the production are Tony Award-winning producer Kevin McCollum and Academy Award®-nominated producer Kristie Macosko Krieger.

The film’s music team includes renowned conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who will helm the recording of Bernstein’s iconic score; Academy Award-nominated composer and conductor David Newman (Anastasia) who will be arranging the score for the new adaptation; Tony Award-winning composer Jeanine Tesori (Broadway’s Fun Home and Thoroughly Modern Millie), who will be working with the cast on vocals; and Grammy®-nominated music supervisor Matt Sullivan (Beauty and the Beast, Chicago), who will serve as executive music producer for the film.

West Side Story will be released by The Walt Disney Studios on December 18, 2020.

Silas Lesnick is the Senior Editor of Moviebill. He has been covering entertainment news out of Los Angeles for more than a decade. You can reach him via e-mail or on Twitter.