Hollywood actor Kevin Costner was recently interviewed by PeopleTV on “Couch Surfing,” where he said the late Princess Diana was to star opposite him in a sequel to his 1992 Film “The Bodyguard.” In that film, he had played a former Secret Service agent protecting a pop star (Whitney Houston). In the sequel, he would have played a similar role with the Princess of Wales, where he was hired to protect her from paparazzi and stalkers.
Costner, 64, said “Bodyguard 2” would have seen him falling in love with Diana while he protected her. However, he went on to say the first script for the film was placed on his desk the day prior to Diana’s death in the 31 August 1997 car crash in Paris.
Princess Diana concerned about intimate scenes
As reported by the Huffington Post, in the interview, Costner explained that he and the Princess of Wales had discussed the movie, particularly the likelihood of intimate scenes. He said he recalled the princess being “incredibly sweet” on the phone as she asked if they were going to have a “kissing scene.” Costner said she asked him in a respectful, but nervous way, due to the governed nature of her life. Kevin responded by telling Diana yes, there would be some of that in the film, but added he and producers could make it OK for her.
Princess Diana was set to star in sequel to The Bodyguard with Kevin Costner https://t.co/F3beg6GNKr
— Guardian news (@guardiannews) July 2, 2019
According to Costner, talks about the film had been initiated by Sarah Ferguson.
Saying how important she was, he said he always respects Sarah as being the one to set up the conversation between himself and Princess Diana. He said Fergie had never asked, “What about me?” because she could have said she was also a princess. Ferguson was very supportive of the idea of Diana starring in the film.
This wasn’t the first time Kevin spoke about the possibility of “Bodyguard 2.” He had been interviewed by Anderson Cooper back in 2012 where he spoke about the project.
Costner said he told Diana at the time that he would be looking after her character the same way he had cared for Whitney’s character. Diana told him she wanted him to write the film for her and he said he would tailor it for her if she was interested, which she was.
‘The Bodyguard’ was a box office hit
“The Bodyguard” pulled in £326m ($411m) at the box office when it was released in 1992, making it the second-highest earning film of that year.
The soundtrack of the film is still the highest-earner, with 45 million copies sold since the movie was released. The film was also Whitney Houston’s acting debut. Houston died in 2012 from drowning in her bath after a history of drugs and drink.
The film “The Bodyguard” itself was panned by critics, but went on to become a stage musical which began in 2012 and is still being staged in the West End of London.