Jared Padalecki’s New Netflix Movie ‘The Bodyguard’ Changes Title to Avoid a Kevin Costner Problem

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Jared Padalecki’s new romantic comedy is getting a title change to avoid being mistaken for the famous 1992 film The Bodyguard, starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston. Padalecki will star with a lead from Gossip Girl in a movie based on Katherine Center’s 2022 romance novel of the same name. The filmmakers decided a new title was necessary because of the popularity of the earlier Bodyguard movie.

I was so excited to see Katherine Center announce on Instagram that the movie based on her book is officially getting a new title! It’s going to be called Guarding Stars instead of The Bodyguard to avoid any confusion with the classic film. Apparently, the change was necessary because the original Bodyguard is just that iconic – they want this movie to have its own strong identity. She shared the news along with a cool title card, and I’m even more hyped for Jarpad Padalecki and Blake Meester to star in it now!

Jared Padalecki’s First Live-Action Film in 17 Years

Katherine Center’s novel, The Bodyguard, is often clarified as The Bodyguard: The Novel to avoid confusion with the 1992 film. Though the book and movie aren’t connected, both involve a bodyguard protecting a celebrity, but with reversed roles—the book features a female bodyguard and a male actor. The upcoming series, Guarding Stars, follows bodyguard Hannah Brooks as she’s tasked with protecting actor Jack Stapleton from a stalker. The situation becomes more complex when Stapleton asks Brooks to pretend to be his girlfriend while staying at his family ranch, and a romance begins to develop.

As a total romance movie buff, I’ve been keeping an eye on what Netflix is doing in the genre, and they’re really leaning into it! Their newest release, Guarding Stars, is just the latest example. They recently adapted Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation – it came out on January 9th, 2026, and is getting pretty good reviews, currently at 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. Of course, everyone knows Bridgerton, which is still a huge hit for them, based on Julia Quinn’s books. And it sounds like they’re not stopping there – they’re also working on adapting Callie Hart’s Quicksilver series, which is a romantic fantasy, so lots to look forward to!

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The new movie, Guarding Stars, is scheduled for release during the 2026 holiday season and is set during Christmas. This will be Jared Padalecki’s first time appearing on screen in 17 years, after his role in the 2009 film Friday the 13th. He did previously provide voice work for the English dub of Phantom Boy in 2015. Padalecki has primarily worked in television, notably starring in Supernatural from 2005 to 2020, and then in the CW series Walker from 2021 to 2024. He’s now set to team up again with his Supernatural co-stars Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins in Season 5 of The Boys, a show run by Erik Kripke, who also created Supernatural.

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2026-01-12 14:05