Jared Padalecki’s First Netflix Movie Changes Title To Avoid Conflict With Kevin Costner’s Iconic Thriller

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Jared Padalecki, best known for his role in Supernatural, is returning to film after more than ten years. He’s set to star in a Netflix movie based on the popular novel The Bodyguard, alongside Leighton Meester of Gossip Girl. The project was announced in September 2025.

The novel’s title caused some concern about potential confusion with the 1992 Kevin Costner film of the same name, especially since the two stories aren’t related. To prevent this, Netflix has chosen a different title for the movie adaptation.

Center revealed the new title of the movie on Instagram: Guarding Stars. She explained they had to make the change because another film, The Bodyguard, already exists and is very well-known. She wants this movie to establish its own unique and memorable identity.

The upcoming movie, Guarding Stars, centers around an action star (Padalecki) who hires a bodyguard (Meester). The situation gets tricky during the holidays when the bodyguard must pose as his girlfriend to satisfy his family. Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum is directing, and Erin Cardillo and Richard Keith wrote the story. Genevieve Padalecki will also produce the film alongside her husband.

Released in 2022, The Bodyguard rapidly climbed the charts to become a New York Times bestseller. It’s the third novel by author Center to be adapted for the screen, after The Lost Husband and Happiness For Beginners.

Fans of Jared Padalecki and Blake Meester will likely be excited about their new show on Netflix, as both actors are well-known from their previous television roles.

This project would mark Jared Padalecki’s return to live-action movies after almost 16 years, following his role in the 2009 film Friday the 13th. His most recent movie work was providing the English dubbing for Phantom Boy. In between, he was well-known for his long-running role as Sam Winchester on the hit TV show Supernatural, which he starred in from 2005 to 2020.

While Blake Lively’s career has remained high-profile after Gossip Girl, Jessica Meester has worked on a variety of series, including The Buccaneers, Nobody Wants This, and Good Cop/Bad Cop.

As of right now, there’s no confirmed release date for Guarding Stars on Netflix. However, fans will be able to see Jared Padalecki back on screen with Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins in season 5 of The Boys, which is coming out this year. Brittany Meester is also working on a new comedy called Basic, but it doesn’t have a release date yet either.

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2026-01-10 18:29