14 DAY TRIAL // After much speculation, Warner Bros has finally decided to remake its 1992 hit film “Bodyguard,” with Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner in the original parts. A release date is yet to be announced.
Granted, this is not the first time that word of a remake gets out in the media but this time it’s for real. Deadline has all the details.
Apparently, the remake will follow the same idea as the original, but certain elements will be changed a bit to give the film a more modern film.
It will also tell the story of a female singer in danger from a stalker who seeks protection from a highly skilled bodyguard, but he won’t be a former Secret Service agent like Costner’s character.
“The film will be scripted by Jeremiah Friedman and Nick Palmer,” Deadline reports. No word yet on whether the film goes into production, but an announcement should probably be made soon.
“Scripted by Lawrence Kasdan and directed by Mick Jackson, the original was a fairly straight ahead tale of a Secret Service agent (Costner in a Steve McQueen homage, down to his hairstyle) drafted to protect a singing diva whose life has been threatened by a stalker, then falling for her in a way he fears is a distraction from his job,” Deadline writes.
“Bodyguard” was among the highest grossing movies of the time, making over $440 million at the box office, a figure that is impressive today too, let alone back then.
“The new version is similar, including the love story, but here the bodyguard will be a former Iraq war veteran who gets the job protecting the star as his first gig after leaving the Army,” the e-zine says of the plot.
“He discovers that the world of Twitter, Google Maps and TMZ has made access to celebrities easier than ever, making the job more difficult than ever. The goal is to take a young female singer with global appeal and give her the platform that The Bodyguard did Houston,” it further writes.
As of now, no word yet either on who will be playing the leads but, back in May 2009, Rihanna was reportedly in talks for the part inspired by Houston's original.