Whitney Houston’s legacy will be exploited yet again in a new remake of her greatest role set for 2022. The late singer who perished almost ten years ago will see her ’90’s classic Bodyguard get the reboot treatment with a Latina lead and social media spin. While many are excited for the new movie, others are saying it might be time to let Whitney and her projects rest and stop exploiting and revisiting them.
The Bodyguard was released in 1992 and starred Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. While the film itself received lukewarm reviews from critics, it was still a box office success. The film grossed $411 million worldwide and became the second highest-grossing film of 1992 and, at the time of its release, the tenth highest-grossing film of all time.
Its soundtrack faired even better thanks to a collection of songs from Whitney Houston. It is regarded by many as the greatest soundtrack of all time selling 45 million copies worldwide. The soundtrack won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and the singles “I Have Nothing” and “Run to You” received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Whitney’s cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” is one of the most successful songs of all time, landing at #1 and selling 20 million units worldwide, becoming “the best-selling physical single by a female artist of all time.”
With that kind of success, the film becomes a bit untouchable, but Hollywood feels different. A remake is scheduled for next year and is being helmed by Matthew López, the Tony Award-winning playwright of The Inheritance. López plans to make his version different by casting a Latina lead and making the film about a social media star instead of a singer. “It’s so much fun. When Warner Bros. approached me about the idea, I quickly said I would, but I wanted the protagonist to be Latina. They agreed to that,” he said in an interview over the summer. Some say he is eyeing Cardi B or Tessa Thompson for the role.
Unfortunately, López does not have the support of many, as several people have come forward saying the film is a bad idea. Houston’s ex-husband Bobby Brown simply replied “yeah” when asked if the remake was a good idea. The Twitterverse is also not feeling it. Big Brother star Da’Vonne Dianne Rogers said, “Why are they remaking The Bodyguard ??!!!” Someone else posted a video of a puppet screaming with the caption, “My reaction when I just learned they are going to remake The Bodyguard. They need to just leave it alone”
Popstar Lizzo seems to think that the only remake we should get should be one starring her and Chris Evans. She posted a video on TikTok sharing tweets from fans saying they’d want to see her and Captain America do the remake. Others feel Halle Berry should have been the only one for the role. Twitter users have chimed in with their dream casting, some suggesting Selena Gomez and Olivia Rodrigo if they are indeed going with a Latina lead.
The Bodyguard remake is not the only Whitney project being protested. Fans have already expressed their anger at a new biopic titled “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” coming out next year helmed by Clive Davis.
