“Casting agents have been ordered to find singers between the ages of 15 and 25 who can also dance, while also being able to deliver lines. Liam sees the opportunity to work with Spielberg as an exciting prospect and one too good to turn down.”
Loosely based on William Shakespeare’s, Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story focuses on two feuding New York gangs, the Sharks and the Jets. Things become complicated when one of the gang members falls in love with his rival’s sister.
It is believed that if Payne lands the part he will play one of the members of the Jets gang.
If Spielberg gets the film off the ground, this will be his first musical, however the director previously told Hollywood Reporter that he has dreamt of adapting it “for decades.”