Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story Trailer Shows the Sharks and Jets

April 25, 2021

During the 2021 Academy Awards show, Steven Spielberg premiered the first West Side Story trailer.

The drama is a fresh adaptation of the hit 1957 musical by Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. It once again revolves around the love lives of two teenagers, Tony and Maria, who fall in love despite being affiliated with rival gangs. It stars Rachel Zegler and Ansel Elgort (Baby Driver) in the lead roles. West Side Story is set to release in theaters on December 10, 2021.

“This story is not only a product of its time, but that time has returned, and it’s returned with a kind of social fury,” Spielberg said of the film that is set in 1950s New York City. “I really wanted to tell that Puerto Rican, Nuyorican experience of basically the migration to this country and the struggle to make a living, and to have children, and to battle against the obstacles of xenophobia and racial prejudice.”

Conductor Gustavo Dudamel helms the recording for the film’s version of Bernstein’s original score, while Academy Award-nominated composer and conductor David Newman (Anastasia) is arranging new music. Tony Award-winning composer Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home and Thoroughly Modern Millie) worked with the vocalists. Finally, Matt Sullivan (Beauty and the Beast) serves as executive music producer for the 2021 release.

Check out the debut West Side Story trailer below:

Watch the brand-new teaser trailer for Steven Spielberg’s #WestSideStory. See the film in theaters December 10. pic.twitter.com/H4NPDpS0un

— West Side Story (@WestSideMovie) April 26, 2021