She is a no-nonsense bodyguard. He is a charming action star being stalked. He takes her home to his family’s Montana ranch for the holidays and tells everyone she is his girlfriend. How would that end? Filming also took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Pioneertown, California.
Guarding Stars is directed by Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum (Ginny & Georgia), written by Grant Scharbo, Richard Keith and Erin Cardillo, adapted from Katherine Center’s 2022 novel The Bodyguard. The title changed because The Bodyguard already belongs to Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston. The setting shifted from Texas in the novel to Montana in the film – the producers leaning into a snowy holiday backdrop, choosing Alberta to stand in for the American West because of its sprawling ranch country, snow-covered winter landscapes and proximity to the Canadian Rockies.
Jared Padalecki (Supernatural) plays Jack Stapleton, the Hollywood star. Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl, The Buccaneers) plays Hannah Brooks, his bodyguard. Andie MacDowell, Walker Hayes, Noah LaLonde, Toby Sandeman, CM Punk, Rachael Ancheril, Shaun Johnston and Ava Max complete the cast. Genevieve Padalecki produces.
The production filmed in two tranches: December 4 to 20, 2025, and February 17 to March 10, 2026.
