A remake of the 1992 romantic drama The Bodyguard, which starred Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, is reportedly in the works at Warner Bros. Matthew Lopez, best known for penning The Inheritance, one of the most acclaimed plays of the decade, is writing the script.
No plot details are available at this time, but the original film focused on a secret service agent who becomes the bodyguard of an R&B singer. Reviews of the actual film were mixed, but the soundtrack was a big deal, and the movie is best remembered for featuring Houston’s iconic cover of Dolly Parton‘s “I Will Always Love You”.
The film’s soundtrack won album of the year at the 36th Grammy Awards and two separate songs received Oscar nominations for Best Original Song, while the film itself was a huge financial success, grossing $400 million against a $25 million budget.
So it’s easy to see why Warner Bros. is interested in a remake, even though the new version won’t be the same without Houston on the soundtrack.
Lawrence Kasdan, who served as a writer and producer on the original film, will produce the remake alongside Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich. Lin has been attached to a potential remake since 2011, but the project hasn’t been able to get off the ground.
Many potential starring duos have been in talks for the lead roles for many years now, including Channing Tatum and Cardi B and Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, but nobody is on board for this Lopez-penned version yet.
We’ll see if the studio decides to go with a musician like Houston, but it’s also possible that the script has changed the female protagonist’s profession. We’ll see.
#Peace.Love.TheBodyguard
