Rita Moreno is returning to West Side Story after all. The legendary actress, who won an Oscar for playing Anita in the original 1961 movie musical, is set to join the cast of Steven Spielberg’s remake as Valentina—who, according to Deadline, is a new, fleshed-out iteration of Doc, the drugstore owner who employs Tony (Ansel Elgort). Moreno will also serve as an executive producer of the film, which is being written by Tony Kushner, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Angels in America playwright who also wrote Spielberg’s Lincoln.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I see myself revisiting this seminal work,” Moreno said in a statement to Deadline. “And to be asked by Steven Spielberg to participate is simply thrilling! Then to work together with the brilliant playwright Tony Kushner—what a glorious stew! I am tingling!”

Rita Moreno—she’s got a stew going!

“From our earliest discussions, we wanted to include Rita Moreno in our production,” Spielberg added in a statement. “Her Anita is one of the greatest musical performances ever filmed, and a personal favorite of mine. We created an original role for her, and we feel beyond fortunate that Rita will bring her extraordinary gifts as an actress, as well as her deep understanding of West Side Story, to this production as an executive producer.”

This latest bit of casting news settles hand-wringing over whether Moreno would bless the remake with her presence. Rumor had it that Spielberg and West Side distributor Twentieth Century Fox were in a bidding war against Warner Bros., which was reportedly hoping to secure the actress for its own adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights. It seems, however, that this talk was only industry gossip. Besides, Moreno being in a West Side Story remake was sort of preordained, wasn’t it? Not having Rita Moreno in your high-profile West Side Story remake would be like an instant curse, akin to screaming “Macbeth!” in a theater. Godspeed to the actress who gets cast to play Anita this time around; we know for sure, now, that Moreno is watching.

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