Meghan Markle Reportedly Being Tapped to Play Lead Role in Sequel to ‘The Bodyguard’

(Image credit: Getty)

published 10 July 2023

Meghan Markle’s career possibilities seem endless right now—“The Tig” relaunch! A memoir of her own! Influencer deals!—but will she return to her acting roots? Lest we forget, before meeting Prince Harry, before marrying into the royal family, before the Oprah Winfrey interview, before “Archetypes,” Meghan was an actress on the cusp of being a household name, and now, The Daily Express reports, she is being tapped for an iconic role that actually has ties to her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana.

If Meghan does opt to return to acting, it would need to be for a role that was next level, sensational, and headline worthy. This would certainly fit the bill—reports are surfacing that Meghan is being considered for the lead role in the sequel to 1992’s The Bodyguard, which starred Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. Interestingly enough, before her death in 1997, Diana was being considered for this exact role, but after she died the project was shelved, until now.

Meghan Markle in a red gown looking over her shoulder

The Daily Express reports that Costner has been pitched the idea of a sequel, with a source saying “The only thing Kevin loves more than an underdog like Meghan is a box office hit.”

Meghan Markle in a gold gown on a red carpet

Back in 2012, Costner said “The studio liked the idea of doing a Bodyguard 2” with Diana as the new love interest playing opposite him. Costner even spoke with Diana on the phone: “I just remember her being incredibly sweet on the phone, and she asked the question ‘Are we going to have, like, a kissing scene?’ She said it in a very respectful way. I said ‘Yeah,’” Costner told People at the time. “‘There’s going to be a little bit of [kissing], but we can make that okay, too.'”

Diana, who was going through her divorce from the then Prince Charles at the time, said “Look, my life is maybe going to become my own at some point. Go ahead and do this script, and when it’s ready I’ll be in a really good spot.” She died before that dream could be realized.

Would you watch a Bodyguard 2 with Meghan as the lead female character?

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.

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