Today, Variety revealed that we’re getting a remake to The Bodyguard, and I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen an announcement get ratioed so quickly.
A remake of the iconic Whitney Houston film #TheBodyguard is in the works at Warner Bros. https://t.co/ThQT1v0ZKU pic.twitter.com/tKbtFF67zJ
— Variety (@Variety) September 15, 2021
Matthew López (The Inheritance) has been hired to write what Variety is calling a “reimagining” of the 1992 original which starred Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. In the original, Houston played Rachel Marron, a singing/acting sensation who started to receive death threats from a stalker. Costner played Frank Farmer, a former Secret Service agent who was working as a bodyguard. Farmer is hired as Marron’s bodyguard, and the rest, as they say, is history.
There is, of course, plenty of room to create a story about a celebrity being stalked who is in need of protection, and with the advancements in technology compared to 1992, it’d probably be perfectly unsettling.
However.
This is Whitney Houston.
— Angel B. Hardy (@angelbhardy) September 15, 2021
Those are some TALL shoes to fill and I wouldn’t wish that on ANY Black woman. Anyone they try and get for this, especially if they’re singing the songs that Whitney sung, is gonna be put under a microscope as soon as they get announced.
No one deserves that.
Just make a different movie about a celebrity dealing with a stalker.
Baby I love Rihanna just as much as the next person but we all know she’s not at the vocal range.
— Annalise Keating’s Vodka Bottle (@JooseephLG) September 15, 2021
Let’s be honest, when we think about The Bodyguard we think of two things: Whitney Houston and the soundtrack. Without those two things, we don’t have The Bodyguard at all.
And who is going to sing the Bodyguard singles? Those were the main reason why people cared about that movie https://t.co/2z6ha4ClLW
— Hot Pink (@daanegro) September 15, 2021
Whitney Houston being in the bodyguard was catching lightning in a bottle. Trying to remake this without her or even Costner is… pic.twitter.com/wzVUITXdEc
— Kagekini_Unbreakable_Body (@kagekini) September 15, 2021
While I’m normally not the type to scream NO from the mountaintops when a remake is announced, my immediate reaction about this particular idea is, well, NO, followed by WHY?!
This is such a horrible idea. There is no need for a remake of the legendary movie, The Bodyguard. Hollywood refusing to invest in new talent and create new stories is pure laziness at this point. https://t.co/ou7ameQCWW
— (@MJFINESSELOVER) September 15, 2021
I just feel like this kind of remake is only gonna sentence whoever is part of it to a lifetime of scrutiny. Is there anyone who would even try and tackle Houston’s range between “Queen of the Night” and “I Will Always Love You” because I feel like no one would dare.
While we’re here, let’s just remember that the Bodyguard soundtrack is one of the best movie soundtracks of all time.
Everybody know I Will Always Love You, but Whitney’s Queen of the Night is one the more underrated songs in her catalogue.https://t.co/LBBpSzmvUX— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) September 15, 2021
No matter how many times (insert lead actress) inevitably comes out to say “I’m not trying to replace Whitney Houston” everyone will see it as “you’re trying to replace her” because this project is called The Bodyguard and has been labeled as a reimagining of the original.
According to Variety, some “delirious speculation” has been being made since 2011.
Lawrence Kasdan of Kasdan Pictures, and Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich of Rideback are producing the new film. Rideback’s Nick Reynolds will executive produce. Kasdan was the writer-producer of the original. Lin has been attached to the property since 2011, which has seen delirious speculation over the potential lead cast for years. Combos from Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson to Channing Tatum and Cardi B have been floated. No cast has been set for López’s script at this stage.
I’m gonna go and listen to the soundtrack on repeat until this is over.
(Image: Warner Bros. Pictures)
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