Sing it with us, folks (deep breath): “And IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII….eeeee…. IIIIIIIII will always love youuuuuuuuuu!” Well, it seems that despite its crowd-pleasing nature and big box office return, Warner Bros. no longer loves 1992 Kevin Costner/Whitney Huston drama The Bodyguard. Or at least, the studio still loves the idea, but is planning a remake.
The original film saw Costner as a Secret Service agent who is recruited to protect a warbling diva (Huston, natch) from a dangerous stalker. Even if you’ve never seen it, you can likely guess what happens next: alien invasion! Okay, no – he falls in love with her and worries that thoughts of introducing her to his “service weapon”* will interfere with his focus while trying to keep her safe. Still, romance blossoms and the high notes are hit.
This time around, the story will get an information age update as an Iraq War veteran gets the job of protecting the starlet after leaving the army. And the explosion of stalkery pap types such as TMZ and the digital tracking in Google Maps and Twitter means his job is that much more difficult. Jeremiah Friedman, whose script Family Getaway landed on last year’s Black List and is already churning through Warners’ development factory, is on board to write the new version.
As for who the music starlet will be, there’s no word yet, though Deadline reports that Warners wants to find the next Whitney and make her a star, which either points to the likes of Christina Aguilera (doubtful) Taylor Swift (yikes) or someone lower down the musical ranks/an unknown getting the call. MARIAH CAREY, TURN YOUR PHONE OFF.
*Penis.