Rachel Zegler will play Maria in Steven Spielberg's West Side Story. Photo / Instagram
Rachel Zegler will play Maria in Steven Spielberg's West Side Story. Photo / Instagram
Steven Spielberg has cast an unknown 17-year-old as Maria in his upcoming West Side Story remake.
New Jersey High School student Rachel Zegler, 17, won the role after Spielberg received 30,000 submissions for the role.
She will play Maria opposite Ansel Elgort, who will play Tony, according to Variety.
Roundingout the cast are Broadway stars Ariana DeBose as Anita, David Alvarez as Bernardo and Josh Andrés Rivera as Chino.
Veteran performer Rita Moreno will play Valentina, an expanded version of the character Doc, the owner of the store in which Tony works. Moreno won an Oscar for playing Anita in the 1961 film, and is an executive producer for Spielberg's remake.
The casting team reportedly put a call out for a the role of Maria and received 30,000 replies. Zegler submitted a video of herself singing Tonight and Me Siento Hermosa (I Feel Pretty).
"When I played Maria on stage a few summers ago, I never could have imagined that I'd be taking on the role again in Steven Spielberg's West Side Story," Zegler wrote on Instagram.
"As a Colombian-American woman growing up in this day and age, strong roles like Maria are so important. To be able to bring that role to life - a role that means so much to the hispanic community - is so humbling."
