Earlier today came news of a casting call going out for Steven Spielberg’s planned remake of the classic 1961 musical “West Side Story”.
The call followed on from a report last week which indicated that with “Ready Player One” effectively finished up beyond some final bits of polishing, Spielberg was deciding between either a fifth “Indiana Jones” or the “West Side Story” remake (his first musical) as his next directorial effort.
With that casting call going out, it appeared as if ‘West Side’ would be going first. Turns out though that’s not the case as THR reports that the new “Indiana Jones” is happening first and with good reason.
Spielberg was previously attached to direct the true story drama “The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara,” but that project fell by the wayside after an extensive casting search over the space of several years failed to turn up someone suitable. It now looks like ‘West Side’ going forward is also contingent on finding the right cast.
Spielberg and his casting director Cindy Tolan are reportedly looking to cast unknowns for the four lead roles (one white, three Hispanic) of Tony, Maria, Anita and Bernardo. That means an extensive search for mostly Latino actors and actresses of a relatively young age, a process which is going to take time.
The trade adds that Spielberg plans to shoot the fifth Indy in 2019 with a goal of having it released in 2020.