New West Side Story teaser shows tensions rising – and an epic love story

A new teaser trailer for West Side Story has arrived, and it teases rising tensions between rival gangs the Sharks and the Jets – as well as Tony and Maria's epic love story.

In the footage, which you can watch above, the Sharks and Jets come face to face, the police move to lock down the West Side, and Maria and Tony lock eyes across a crowded room. "Their love will change everything," the trailer says, and the threat of violence erupting is clear throughout the teaser.

West Side Story is directed by Steven Spielberg with a script from Pulitzer and Tony Award winner Tony Kushner. The remake is based on the original Broadway production rather than the '61 film, which starred Natalie Wood as Maria and Richard Beymer as Tony. In Spielberg's version, Baby Driver's Ansel Elgort plays Tony, while Rachel Zegler portrays Maria. Zegler will soon be seen in Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Disney's upcoming live-action Snow White remake, which also features Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen.

Alongside Elgort and Zegler, West Wide Story stars Ariana DeBose as Anita, David Alvarez as Bernardo, Mike Faist as Riff, Josh Andrés Rivera as Chino, Ana Isabelle as Rosalía, Corey Stoll as Lieutenant Schrank, Brian d'Arcy James as Officer Krupke, and Rita Moreno as Valentina. Moreno played Anita in the '61 movie, which earned her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. This time round, she plays a new character, who takes the place of Doc as Tony's boss. 

West Side Story arrives to theaters this December 10. In the meantime, check out our roundup of all the next few months' major movie release dates to start planning those theater trips.

Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.