Steven Spielberg Says Casting His 'West Side Story' with 'Latinx Communities' Was a 'Mandate from the Get-Go'
Ariana DeBose, Steven Spielberg and Rachel Zegler.Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Steven Spielberg’sWest Side Storymade diverse casting for the movie-musical a top priority. “We just wanted for this movie to get it right in the way that we wanted every single person who plays a Puerto Rican to be from the Latinx community, and that was a mandate from the get-go,” Spielberg said. The director also revealed why he chose the iconic musical as his latest project, telling the BBC, “I think I wanted to direct a musical film because I knew I couldn’t sing and dance....