Disney might not allow smoking in the West Side Story remake

As numerous Fox projects are brought under the Disney umbrella, not all of them may survive intact.

Steven Spielberg's upcoming West Side Story remake is one of a number of films that had been in the works at Fox prior to the recent Disney sale. But The Hollywood Reporter reports that some of these projects "are being met with scrutiny," with Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn reportedly "questioning the apparent plan to have young characters smoking onscreen" in West Side Story.

Disney has indicated it will continue releasing R-rated movies like Deadpool under the Fox banner and just not branding them as family-friendly Disney movies, so it's unclear whether this means the studio is now eying West Side Story as a traditional Disney release. If that's the case, Horn has suggested that smoking wouldn't be allowed. The Reporter quotes a previous interview the Disney chief gave in which he named Bohemian Rhapsody as a movie Disney couldn't release before the Fox purchase because it includes smoking and "there are certain things we just can't include because we'll get letters."

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Additional details about this apparent smoking dispute weren't available, but the good news is that West Side Story is at least moving forward. As the Reporter notes, other projects that were previously in the works at Fox but are being purged from Disney's slate weren't so lucky.