It’s Official! Katherine Center’s ‘The Bodyguard’ Adaptation Debuts New Title

Rebecca Perlmutter •January 9, 2026, 11:18 am
Jared Padalecki and Leighton Meester to star in 'The Bodyguard
Emma McIntyre / Rodin Eckenroth / Getty Images

What To Know

  • Netflix has officially announced a film adaptation of Katherine Center’s The Bodyguard.
  • The adaptation will star Jared Padalecki and Leighton Meester, with a stacked supporting cast.
  • On January 8, Katherine Center officially announced the adaptation’s new title.

Katherine Center’s The Bodyguard has the makings of a perfect rom-com, especially with Jared Padalecki and Leighton Meester confirmed as the leads. The only thing that was missing was an official title announcement — until now!

The Bodyguard follows Hannah, an elite bodyguard tasked with protecting reclusive Hollywood heartthrob, Jack Stapleton. In order to avoid Jack’s corgi-obsessed stalker without scaring his family, Hannah is forced to pretend that she is Jack’s girlfriend. Perfectly balancing office politics — turns out bodyguards are messy! — and adorable banter between Hannah and her fake-famous boyfriend, The Bodyguard flips the script on bodyguard romances for the better.

After months of rumors, Netflix confirmed that Padalecki and Meester will star in a movie based on The Bodyguard. However, given that the book title already belongs to another iconic romance movie, Center revealed that the adaptation would take on a new title. We can already tell, this is one romance adaptation nobody should miss! Below, we’re breaking down everything we know about The Bodyguard adaptation so far.

What will The Bodyguard‘s adaptation be called?

On January 8, Katherine Center posted an Instagram Reel revealing that the new title for The Bodyguard will be Guarding Stars. She wrote, “Title reveal for The Bodyguard MOVIE!!!!!!! ✨✨✨ So many thanks to @genpadalecki and @jaredpadalecki and @itsmeleighton and @netflixfilm for bringing this book to the screen!! 💕✨💕✨💕” Watch Center’s full announcement below!

 

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A post shared by Katherine Center (@katherinecenter)

Why does The Bodyguard‘s adaptation need a different name?

On November 20, Jared Padalecki posted a video with Katherine Center and Leighton Meester. Together, the trio shared two major updates. First, the film will take place around Christmas, not Thanksgiving, like the book. Second, the adaptation needs a new title since The Bodyguard is already an iconic romantic movie with Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston.

Padalecki wrote, “Big News!!!! Getting ready to head into production, and I’m incredibly excited to be teaming up with Netflix on this one!!! This story has so much heart, and we can’t wait to bring Katherine Center’s The Bodyguard to the screen. Only catch? The title… is already very, VERY taken.” He explained, “The whole team has been tossing around new ideas — and now we want to hear yours too.” If you have a suggestion for The Bodyguard adaptation’s new title, head to the comments of the video below.

 

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A post shared by Jared Padalecki (@jaredpadalecki)

 

Who has been cast in the Bodyguard adaptation?

On November 20, Netflix announced that Padalecki of Supernatural and Gilmore Girls fame is set to star as Hollywood hunk Jack Stapleton alongside Gossip Girl and The Buccaneers star Leighton Meester as bona fide girlboss Hannah Brooks.

Joining Padalecki and Meester are Andie MacDowell (Groundhog Day), country star Walker Hayes, Noah LaLonde (My Life with the Walter Boys), and Toby Sandeman (Running Point). While their roles have not been revealed, we’d guess that MacDowell will play Jack’s mom, and LaLonde could play his brother.

Who else is involved in the Bodyguard adaptation?

The Bodyguard will be directed by Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum (Ginny & Georgia) and written by Richard Keith (Virgin River) and Erin Cardillo (Isn’t It Romantic). Gina Matthews and Grant Scharbo are set to produce for Little Engine Productions, with Padalecki and his wife, Genevieve Padalecki, for Living in the Asterisk.

In the announcement, Rosenbaum shared, “It’s been amazing to work closely with Katherine [Center] so far, and to see her so excited about moving her witty story about a no-nonsense bodyguard to an A-list actor into the holiday season. It makes the most gorgeous backdrop for the sparks that fly between them to be even brighter at that time of year. Leighton Meester and Jared Padalecki are perfect as our leads, and I know audiences are going to love seeing them on screen together.”

What has Jared Padalecki said about Guarding Stars?

At a Supernatural fan event, Padalecki gave fans an inside look at his next project, seemingly talking about The Bodyguard. He shared, “As of now, it’s a movie that can be a rom-com, can be a dramedy, can be romantic. When prompted by his costar, Jensen Ackles, to describe how the role would be different from recent projects like Walker, Padalecki teased, “This is going to be charming, I hope!” To prep for the “charming” actor role, he even joked, “I’ve been watching Jensen Ackles videos.”

When will Guarding Stars premiere?

At this time, there is no release date for the Bodyguard adaptation. However, the film reportedly started filming in December 2025. In the new title announcement, she also revealed that the movie will come out in 2026. After tagging the entire production team, Center wrote, “THANK YOU to all these folks for giving us this movie to look forward to in 2026!” Seeing as Guarding Stars centers around the holidays, we’d expect to see this film hit Netflix in November or December 2026.

Guarding Stars, Streaming 2026, Netflix