Speculation over who might take on Whitney Houston’s role in a remake of The Bodyguard has begun.
Following the news that Warner Bros is making a new version of the 1992 romantic drama, which was the second-highest-grossing film of 1992, several names have been placed in the mix to play the film’s leads, including Taylor Swift.
News of the forthcoming movie was revealed by Deadline last week in an interview with Warner Bros bosses Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy. The pair confirmed that Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour director Sam Wrench would over the project, while Jonathan A Abrams (Juror No 2) writing the script.
While casting has yet to be announced, the publication noted that the film should be a “magnet” for a high-profile cast, adding that there are a number of singers who could star.
The original plot starred Houston – then at the height of her fame as a pop star – as famous R&B singer Rachel Marron, with Kevin Costner playing Frank Farmer, a former Secret Service agent who takes on the role of her bodyguard.
In the film, Frank attempts to track down a dangerous stalker with murderous intentions, and has a tumultuous relationship with Rachel as they gradually overcome their resentment and distrust of one another.
Houston died on 11 February 2012, aged 48.
On Friday (18 April), Daily Mail cited “insiders” who claim that Swift herself is being lined up for the main role of Rachel.
The pop titan has directed around 10 music videos, as well as a short film accompanying her extended version of “All Too Well” starring Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien.
She has long-expressed her love of film but to date has only dabbled in minor roles in films such as Valentine’s Day (2010), the critically maligned musical adaptation Cats (2019), and David O Russell’s 2022 flop Amsterdam, starring Christian Bale and Margot Robbie.
Also in 2022, it was reported that Swift would make her directorial feature debut with a new untitled film for Searchlight Pictures, with an original script she had written.
“I’d love to keep taking baby steps forward,” she said in an appearance at the Toronto Film Festival. “And I think that I’m at a place now where the next baby step is not a baby step. It would be committing to making a film.”
Swift would likely find plenty to identify in Rachel’s character, as the subject of global press scrutiny and having also dealt with a number of security threats over the years.
In 2024, three of her planned Eras shows in Vienna were cancelled due to a foiled terror attack, while she has also endured a number of break-ins or attempted break-ins at her homes.
Other singers who could be eyeing up the role include Ariana Grande, a noted Houston fan who has previously wowed fans with covers on Saturday Night Live, as well as a stunning rendition of “I Have Nothing” at the White House.
Grande has also been focusing on developing her film career, most notably with her Oscar-nominated performance opposite Cynthia Erivo in Universal Pictures’ 2024 adaptation of the musical Wicked, itself loosely based on the 1995 novel of the same name and the original 1900 book, L Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Back in 2021, when it was reported that Tony-nominated writer Matthew Lopez would write the script, Billboard suggested that Lil Nas X could help move the project out from Houston’s shadow and make it about a Black gay pop star.
Other suggestions included Grammy-winning rapper and actor Cardi B, pop singer and actor Miley Cyrus, and Academy Award-winner Jennifer Hudson, known for her critically adored performance in Dreamgirls opposite Beyonce as well as for her Broadway triumph in The Color Purple.
While the original Mick Jackson-directed film The Bodyguard received mixed reviews, it was a major box office success and had a record Christmas opening in the UK. The soundtrack – featuring Houston’s iconic hit “I Will Always Love You” – became the best-selling of all time, as well as the best-selling album by a female artist.
Two of Houston’s songs, “Run to You” and “I Have Nothing”, were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, while the soundtrack won three Grammy Awards including Album of the Year.
Swift’s concert movie Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, directed by Wrench, documented her record-obliterating, globe-trotting series of 149 shows, each spanning between two to three hours and featuring a lengthy setlist of some of her biggest songs, along with a number of “secret songs” in each set.
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