After the immense success of the 1992 film The Bodyguard starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston, rumours began to swirl that a sequel featuring Princess Diana was on the cards.
As impossible as this seemed, Costner confirmed he spoke with Diana through Sarah Ferguson, expressing his interest in a sequel where he would build a film around her.
These claims were recently discussed by Diana’s former butler, Paul Burrell, who wrote in his latest book The Royal Insider: ‘Diana declined an offer to move into the professional sphere of her future daughter-in-law, Meghan, and become an actress.
‘She was approached to appear in The Bodyguard II alongside Kevin Costner.
‘I put the call from Mr Costner through to her in the sitting room and heard fits of giggles with her saying, “But I can’t sing! What would I be expected to do? I’m not sure but yes, OK, send it and I promise I will have a look.”
‘She told me at the end of the call that he had offered her the lead role in a follow-up to the smash hit which had starred Whitney Houston as the lead.
‘She was to play a princess and Kevin would be her bodyguard and save her life. He promised it would be tastefully done and he would look after her.
Kevin Costner first spoke about the axed Bodyguard sequel in 2012, saying the plot would revolve around him protecting Princess Diana’s character
After the immense success of the 1992 film The Bodyguard starring Costner and Whitney Houston, rumours began to swell that a sequel featuring Princess Diana was on the cards
As impossible as this seemed, Costner confirmed that he spoke with Diana through Sarah Ferguson, expressing his interest in a sequel where he would build a film around her
‘Diana chuckled. “He was so charming but he cannot be serious.”
‘But he was extremely serious, and the script arrived for The Bodyguard II.
‘I’m not sure that she ever read it but she was flattered. She politely declined the opportunity, saying, “It is entirely impossible.”‘
However, it seems that ‘recollections may vary’ when it comes to how Costner asked Diana, and how she responded.
Kevin first spoke about the axed Bodyguard sequel in 2012, saying the plot would revolve around him protecting Diana’s character from stalkers and paparazzi before their relationship eventually turned romantic.
Costner claimed that Diana was initially on board with the film, telling him, ‘My life’s about to change’.
He added that the second time they talked, they agreed on a kissing scene.
The Bodyguard was one of the highest-grossing films of the early 1990s, with a worldwide return of more than £300million.
Diana’s former butler, Paul Burrell, wrote in his 2025 book, The Royal Insider: ‘Diana declined an offer to move into the professional sphere of her future daughter-in-law, Meghan, and become an actress
Pictured: Actress Marlee Matlin with Kevin Costner and Sarah Ferguson in September 1996
Pictured: The promotional poster for the 1992 film The Bodyguard
More than 42million copies were sold of the soundtrack – a world record – thanks largely to Houston’s rendition of the Dolly Parton number I Will Always Love You.
In the first movie, Houston played a singer in a role written originally for Diana Ross.
Her performance, and the film’s success, briefly made her one of the highest-paid actors in the world in the mid-1990s.
The idea for the sequel reportedly came during this trip to China taken by Diana with Costner, the Duchess of York and Hong Kong restaurant mogul David Tang.
In recent years, Costner has shared that his relationship with the Royal Family soured after Diana’s death.
He said on The Howard Stern Show that around a year after Diana’s passing, it leaked out he was prepping the sequel with her.
‘The Royal Family kind of turned on me a little bit’, he said.
‘And it got actually kind of ugly. And I let it go for a while. It just got uglier and uglier.’
Sarah Ferguson and Diana are pictured on the Buckingham Palace balcony in June 1991
The Bodyguard became the second-highest-grossing film of 1992 (Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner pictured in the film)
He told how he reached out to Sarah, Duchess Of York, who introduced him to Princess Diana, and asked for help.
He said: ‘Finally I called up Sarah, and said, “Sarah, you need to tell me who is leading the charge there on this thing”.
‘She goes, “No, no, no, Kev, you don’t want to talk to them.” I said, “Yes I do”.
‘I called them up and I said, “I’m telling you something, you need to stop because it is true. And if you don’t stop, I’m gonna start. Because it was.”‘
At the time Kevin was trying to make a sequel to The Bodyguard, Diana had separated from Charles and was estranged from the royal family.
He recalled: ‘What had happened was, I started talking to her through Sarah, and I said, “Look, I’m gonna do Bodyguard II and I think I can build this around you. Would you be interested?”‘
‘And she goes, “Yes. My life’s about to change.” I didn’t really go into depth with it, but I thought I understood what she was saying.’
He added: ‘She was very sweet and we talked. The second time we talked she said, “Is there going to be a kissing scene?” I said, “Do you want there to be one?”
‘She said, “Yeah,” and I said, “Then we’ll do that.” I wasn’t going to make the full romance about her. But there was going to be a moment that we did. And she was so sweet about this.’
The idea for the film reportedly came about during this trip to China taken by Diana with Costner, the Duchess of York and Hong Kong restaurant mogul David Tang. Costner is pictured with Tang in September 1996
Years later, Costner happened to be in the UK and Prince William reached out to him for a meeting.
‘I’ve never talked about this,’ the two-time Oscar winner said.
‘But I can because of how I very much respect him.
‘The first line out of his mouth was: “You know, my mum kind of fancied you.”‘
Blushing, Kevin reportedly replied ‘I know’ to William and they spoke for about half an hour.
‘I’ll never say what we talked about but it was a very sweet thing,’ Costner beamed.
‘I have such fond memories of who he was, how I was approached, and what we talked about.’
When Diana tragically died in 1997, Costner said he ‘could not replace Princess Di’ and the film was never made.
