Ansel Elgort has been tapped to lead the upcoming remake of West Side Story. The Baby Driver star and Off-Broadway alum is set to play the star-crossed lover Tony in the Steven Spielberg-directed movie.
As previously announced, Tony Kushner has penned the script for the new take on Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents' classic musical, with Carousel Tony winner Justin Peck set to choreograph. (Peck, of New York City Ballet, is no stranger to the work of original West Side Story director-choreographer Jerome Robbins.)
In addition to Baby Driver (in which he showed off some of his musical skills), Elgort is known on screen for his performances in The Fault in Our Stars, the Divergent series, and the 2013 remake of Carrie. He has appeared Off-Broadway in Manhattan Theatre Club's Regrets.Production is set to begin in summer 2019; no word yet on further casting. Spielberg produces the Fox project with Broadway producer Kevin McCollum and Kristie Macosko Krieger.
