Netflix Sets Fall Release Date for 'Guarding Stars' Film Based on Katherine Center's 'The Bodyguard'
By Dessi Gomez
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August 26, 2026, 4:52 pm
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Netflix has set a fall release date for Guarding Stars, the film adaptation of Katherine Center's novel The Bodyguard, starring Leighton Meester and Jared Padalecki.
The holiday rom-com will arrive on the streamer November 18 as the latest in a lineup of films based on books with Western lean. Due to the existence of the famous 1992 film The Bodyguard starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston, the film adaptation was renamed Guarding Stars with the help of fans and readers of Center's book.
Cast and Production
The cast also includes Andie MacDowell (Groundhog), whose casting Deadline first reported alongside Meester and Padalecki. Country music star Walker Hayes, who sings "Fancy Like," will also appear, along with Toby Sandeman (Running Point) and Noah LaLonde, who stars as Cole Walter in My Life with the Walter Boys. Deadline also broke the news of WWE star and Zootopia 2 voice actor CM Punk's casting.
In Center's novel, published by St. Martin's Press in July 2022, a no-nonsense bodyguard is assigned to protect a charming action star over the holidays, leading sparks to fly and secrets to unravel, with Christmas getting a whole lot more complicated.
Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum (Aquamarine, Purple Hearts) is directing from a script by Erin Cardillo & Richard Keith (Isn’t It Romantic, Virgin River). Gina Matthews and Grant Scharbo are producing for Little Engine Productions, alongside Jared & Genevieve Padalecki for Living in the Asterisk.
The film marks Center’s third film adaptation, following movies based on her books Happiness for Beginners starring Ellie Kemper and Luke Grimes, which was also with Netflix, and The Lost Hu.