David Alvarez and Arianaa DeBose on the set of Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’

Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story is shooting in New York City this weekend (under the name ‘San Juan Hill’) and images of David Alvarez (playing Bernardo) and Ariana DeBose (playing Anita) as well as the Academy Award-winning director himself have popped up via Tom & Lorenzo.

20th Century Fox and The Walt Disney Company had previously released the first official look at DeBose last week along with an image of Ansel Elgort (Tony) and Rachel Zegler (Maria) accompanied by the Jets and the Sharks. An adaptation of the original Broadway musical, West Side Story explores young love and tensions between rival gangs the Jets and the Sharks on the streets of 1957 New York. The cast also includes Ana Isabelle (Rosalia); Corey Stoll (Lieutenant Schrank); Brian d’Arcy James (Officer Krupke); Curtiss Cook (Abe) and Academy Award-winner Rita Moreno (Anita in the 1961 film), who plays Valentina and also serves as one of the film’s Executive Producers.

West Side Story is produced and directed by Steven 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 20th Century Fox and The Walt Disney Studios on December 18, 2020.