Jared Padalecki and Leighton Meester Team Up for Netflix’s Bodyguard Movie
Gilmore Girls alum Jared Padalecki and Gossip Girl favorite Leighton Meester are in talks to headline Netflix’s untitled bodyguard romance. Cameras are slated to roll in December in Calgary, but the project still lacks a director, writer, and release date.
Netflix looks ready to mash up fake-dating shenanigans with holiday-family chaos: Jared Padalecki and Leighton Meester are in talks to star in a new (still untitled) romance that shoots this December in Calgary. No, not that Bodyguard. Different book.
What we know right now
- It is a Netflix original romance feature that, per Nexus Point News, adapts Katherine Center's 2022 novel 'The Bodyguard'.
- Leighton Meester would play the bodyguard. Jared Padalecki would play the movie star she has to protect.
- The hook: to keep his cover intact, she pretends to be his girlfriend while spending the holidays at his family's ranch in Montana. Cue mess.
- Production is expected to start in December in Calgary, Alberta.
- As of now, there is no announced director, no credited screenwriter, and no release date.
- Both actors are reportedly still in negotiations; nothing is locked until the contracts are signed.
'A bodyguard assigned to protect a famous movie star. To maintain his cover, she must pose as his girlfriend while spending the holidays at his family's ranch in Montana — where chaos inevitably ensues.'
— how Nexus Point News describes the setup
Why this pairing makes sense (and is a little funny)
Meester doing the muscle while Padalecki plays the famous guy who needs babysitting has a nice role-reversal energy. It also feels very Netflix: holiday-adjacent, cozy setting, high-concept premise that basically writes its own trailer. The only eyebrow-raiser is the 'no writer or director attached' part — obviously someone is adapting the novel, they just have not been announced yet.
Where you've seen them lately
If these deals close, it would be Padalecki's first original Netflix film. His last Netflix appearance was back in 2016, dropping by the 'Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life' revival to revisit Dean. More recently, he guested on 'Fire Country' last year as Camden, and he is set to appear in the final season of 'The Boys,' which also ropes in his 'Supernatural' pals Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins for a mini-reunion.
Meester already has one Netflix movie under her belt with the 2022 thriller 'The Weekend Away.' She also joined Season 2 of 'Nobody Wants This,' headlined by her husband Adam Brody alongside Kristen Bell — a fun teen-drama multiverse moment given Brody and Bell's roots on 'The O.C.' and 'Veronica Mars.' Up next, Meester is also set for Rachel Sennott's new HBO comedy series 'I Love LA.'
Bottom line: if Netflix actually kicks cameras on in December, expect this one to slide into that cozy, crowd-pleasing holiday window. Until then, it is all eyes on the dealmaking — and on who they hire to actually steer the thing.