This month will see the long-awaited release of West Side Story, the first musical to be helmed by Steven Spielberg. The famous show debuted back in 1957 and marked the Broadway debut of lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who sadly passed away last week at age 91. The first film adaptation of West Side Story was made in 1961, and it earned ten Oscars, including Best Picture. Spielberg’s new version has been in the works for quite a while and stars Rachel Zegler as Maria. Zegler will also be seen in the upcoming Shazam! Fury of the Gods movie and she just shared a hilarious screenshot from her DC cast’s group chat.
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“Scenes from the shazamily groupchat,” Zegler wrote. The screenshot shows her encouraging her Shazam co-stars to check out West Side Story. You can view the tweet below:
Shazam! Fury of the Gods wrapped filming at the end of August, and the recent DC FanDome revealed the first footage from the film. The new movie will see the return of Zachary Levi in the titular role as well as the entire “Shazamily.” All of the Shazam stars will be returning with the exception of Michelle Borth, the former adult Mary, who is being replaced by Grace Fulton in the sequel. The returning young actors will include Asher Angel (Billy Batson), Jack Dylan Grazer (Freddy), Ian Chen (Eugene), Jovan Armand (Pedro), Faithe Herman (Darla), and Fulton (Mary). The returning adult-sized Shazamily will include actors Adam Brody, D.J. Cotrona, Ross Butler, and Meagan Good. Djimon Hounsou is also back as the Wizard. New additions to the cast include Helen Mirren as the villain Hespera, a daughter of Atlas, as well as Lucy Liu as Hespera’s sister, Kalypso. Zegler has been cast in an unknown key role.
In addition to West Side Story and Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Zegler has also been cast as the title character in the live-action Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Amazing Spider-Man‘s Marc Webb is directing the film. “Rachel’s extraordinary vocal abilities are just the beginning of her gifts,” Webb recently shared. “Her strength, intelligence, and optimism will become an integral part of rediscovering the joy in this classic Disney fairytale.” Marc Platt is producing the project. Academy Award-winning duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are working on songs for the movie. Filming should begin on the feature in 2022.
West Side Story hits theaters on December 10th, and Shazam! Fury of the Gods is set to be released on June 2, 2023.
