Jared Padalecki and Leighton Meester to star in Netflix adaptation of Katherine Center’s Bodyguard

Jared Padalecki and Leighton Meester headline Netflix’s romantic comedy Bodyguard, based on Katherine Center’s novel.

Netflix has announced that Jared Padalecki and Leighton Meester will headline its upcoming romantic comedy film The Bodyguard, an adaptation of Katherine Center’s 2022 novel of the same name. As reported by What’s on Netflix (Jacob Robinson, September 19, 2025), production is scheduled to begin in Canada in December 2025.

The film will follow the story of a movie star (Padalecki) who, after being targeted by a stalker, hires a bodyguard (Meester) for protection. When he returns to his family ranch in Montana for the holidays, the two are forced to pose as a couple. Notably, the setting has been shifted from Texas, as written in the novel, to Montana for the screen version.

Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum (Ginny & Georgia) will direct, with a screenplay written by Grant Scharbo, Richard Keith, and Erin Cardillo. The project has been in development since Netflix acquired rights to the novel in 2024. It marks Katherine Center’s second collaboration with the streamer following the 2023 release of Happiness for Beginners, starring Ellie Kemper and Luke Grimes.

Gina Matthews (13 Going on 30) is producing through Little Engine Productions alongside Readymade Productions and Tremblant Productions. Genevieve Padalecki, known for her role on Supernatural, is also attached as a producer.

Padalecki is best recognized for his 15-season run as Sam Winchester on The CW’s Supernatural. He currently stars in Walker and is set to appear in the final season of Amazon Prime’s The Boys. Meester rose to prominence as Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl and has since appeared in The Orville, Good Cop/Bad Cop, and Apple TV+’s The Buccaneers. She has also collaborated with Netflix before, voicing a role in My Father’s Dragon.

The Bodyguard does not yet have a release date.