West Side Story is making a comeback with Steven Spielberg’s remake. West Side Story tells the story of a modern day Romeo and Juliet. On the west side of town, 2 gangs battle for control of the area, things get messy when a gang member (Tony) falls in love with a rival member’s (Bernardo) sister (Maria). In the original 1961 version of this story, Maria was played by Natalie Wood, in the 2021 remake she is now being played by Rachel Zegler. This movie also features some well-known actors, such as Ansel Elgort and Maddie Zeigler, and even Rita Moreno, who played Rita in the original film, is making a comeback and playing Valentina in the new film.

There are a lot of people who are really excited for this movie, including Shadow Ridge students.

Katie McDowell, junior, says “I am excited to see the new version! I think that cast is a beautiful group of actors… I think the actors are all very talented.”

McDowell goes on to say, “Honestly, yes I do [think the remake will do as good as the original], it’s a story that will speak to a lot of people and I think this generation will approve and learn from it.”

Steven Spielberg is a very well known director, so expectations are very high for this movie. Spielberg has directed movies such as E.T., Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, etc.. Critics are already saying the movie is good, it already has a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Associated Press says, “And the story, as scripted by Kushsner, is more emotional and complex than ever, fully realizing the Romeo and Juliet tragedy while shading the ’50s gang strife with notes of today’s divisions and battles of gentrification.”

This movie is a classic and really important to a lot of people and it’s very exciting for it to be making such a big comeback.