Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake has found its Maria!
According to Deadline, 17-year-old newcomer Rachel Zegler has officially been cast as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming remake of the iconic Broadway musical, West Side Story.
Zegler scored the role after submitting a video of herself singing “Tonight” and “Me Siento Hermosa” (“I Feel Pretty”) to an open casting call seeking Latinx actors for the film posted on Twitter back in January of 2018.
The high school student expressed her excitement over landing the lead role in a statement released shortly after her casting was announced.
“I am so thrilled to be playing the iconic role of Maria alongside this amazing cast,” said Zegler. “West Side Story was the first musical I encountered with a Latina lead character. As a Colombian-American, I am humbled by the opportunity to play a role that means so much to the Hispanic community.”
Zegler later took to Twitter to thank everyone for the well wishes following the casting announcement.
In Spanish, the actress wrote that it’s an honor to be able to represent the Latin community and that she’s very thankful for the opportunity.
para representar a mi comunidad latina es un honor. estoy muy agradecida. los quiero a todos. gracias y buenas noches. xx r
— rachel zegler (@rachelzegler) January 15, 2019
Zegler may be a newcomer to the big screen, but there’s no denying she’s got some serious pipes. You can get a taste of her impressive vocals by checking out a short video of the actress singing “Shallow” from A Star Is Born below!
someone: you use autotune😤😤😤😤
me: pic.twitter.com/9sPBkDj2kf— rachel zegler (@rachelzegler) December 14, 2018
Zegler joins previously announced cast members Ansel Elgort, who will play Tony, and EGOT winner Rita Moreno. Moreno, who won an Oscar for her role as Anita in the 1961 adaptation of the musical, will be playing the role of Valentina in Spielberg’s remake.
The character was actually written specifically for Moreno and is being described as an expanded version of Doc, the shop owner of the corner store where Tony works.
Zegler isn’t the only new cast member who was recently announced.
In addition, we also found out who will be rounding out the principle cast of the upcoming film.
Spielberg has tapped Ariana DeBose and David Alvarez to play Anita and Bernardo, respectively. Both DeBose and Alvarez are Broadway vets with DeBose scoring a Tony Award nomination for her role of Donna Summer in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, while Alvarez won a Tony in 2009 for originating the titular role in Billy Elliot: The Musical.
Finally, actor Josh Andres Rivera (who most recently appeared in the first national tour of Hamilton) will play Chino in the upcoming musical.
There’s currently no word on when Spielberg’s West Side Story will hit theaters, but principle production on the film is set to start in the summer of 2019.