Nick Jonas Trades Pop Stardom for Blood and Betrayal in "Bodyman"

Olivia Bennett, 2/11/2026 Nick Jonas shreds his pop halo for “Bodyman”—a glamorous, bullet-laced takedown of dynastic drama and betrayal. Succession wars, military intrigue, and celebrity reinvention collide; Hollywood’s newest action hero is tuning up for more fireworks than a billionaire’s Christmas. Cue the inheritance anxiety, darling.

Cue immediate chaos. Not for nothing does the table setting feel more “pass the ammo” than “please pass the gravy.” There’s more than a hint of Agatha Christie by way of a John Woo set piece—less a silent night, more a ticking time bomb atop a bed of tinsel.

At the center of this gleaming powder keg: Nick Jonas—yes, Nick of the Disney-honed jawline and platinum record fame—wearing less sparkle, more stubble. Consider it a late-2020s Hollywood tradition: pop demigods reinventing themselves as plausible tough guys. Skeptics may raise an eyebrow at Jonas wielding firepower instead of falsetto, but his past roles in “Jumanji: The Next Level” and the explosive, if somewhat blustery, “Midway” were hardly subtle hints. This time, though, “Bodyman” signals something else—a brash step into the sort of terrain where a Christmas sweater is the least dangerous thing in the house.

Jonas, for his part, is hardly shy about his ambitions. Word has it he’s been simmering on this project for a while, adding producer muscle to his already-busy resume. You get the sense he’s chasing more than just another action flick—maybe an action dynasty. Or, at the very least, a chance to swap his pop poster persona for something that could, in a couple of years, look downright Schwarzeneggerian in the right lighting.

The DNA for this film comes lined with a certain pedigree too. Gary Fleder, director of tense, unglamorous thrillers like “Homefront” and that clockwork-precise “Runaway Jury,” heads up the operation. Byron Balasco handles the script—expect sharp-tongued dialogue and a plot that ricochets through inheritance paranoia and ivy-wrapped scandal. The trio—Fleder, Balasco, Jonas—previously tagged in together on the battered fight drama “Kingdom,” which is perhaps why hopes are unusually high in the corridors of Berlin’s European Film Market, where “Bodyman” has already begun collecting industry buzz like Instagram likes during award season.

So why is everyone from streaming giants to old-guard studios circling this one with such palpable hunger? For starters, it taps directly into the zeitgeist—2025’s very particular obsession with wealthy dynasties, the “nepo baby” conversation, and the uneasy mingling of privilege and power. It’s hard to ignore the shadow of real-life empires (Murdoch, Baldwin, pick your flavor) looming over such a premise. Yet, “Bodyman” appears less intent on broad satire and more focused on ferreting out the genuine anxieties that have gripped everything from Silicon Valley’s boardrooms to the gilded kitchens of Beverly Hills.

A brief aside—Jeffrey Greenstein, whose company A Higher Standard is handling the global rights shuffle, framed it as not just “elevating the action genre,” but folding in a “grounded and gripping” edge. Dramatic pyrotechnics, certainly, but also emotional fallout—that rarest of Hollywood ingredients in a year stuffed with sequels and IP retreads.

And, Jonas isn’t simply cashing in his face for a paycheck; his “Powered by Jonas” banner is stamped all over the production. The phrase “reinvention” gets thrown around every pilot season, yet it’s hard not to spot the whiff of something more deliberate at play. Like Mark Wahlberg or Gaga before him, he seems intent on carving out territory previously reserved for actors with grizzled jawlines and Oscar dates on their arm.

Principal photography is on the starting line for June 2026, but the industry is already speculating, as it does, about sequel potential. Awards chatter? Too early, but stranger upsets have played out in recent years. Then again, Hollywood does love an underdog—especially one who once made hearts flutter in tween bedrooms across North America.

So, as “Bodyman” preps to roll cameras, it’s worth wondering: will Jonas merely play at menace, or will he pull off a full-blown transformation? The premise is bold enough, the creative team shrewd enough, and the climate suitably hungry for new blood and new faces glinting with ambition.

Whatever unfolds, there’s no question: family fortunes (both onscreen and off) have rarely felt so volatile. In the hands of Fleder and Jonas, inheritance may come with more than just a signed check—it might arrive at gunpoint, with trust funds and trust issues tangled in every frame.

One more thing—if “Bodyman” hits as hard as the whispers suggest, don’t be surprised if those Miramax recliners are suddenly filled with bodyguards-turned-producers and pop stars eyeing their own empires. As for Hollywood’s dynasties, it’s safe to say their holidays are about to get a lot less predictable.

Picture the scene—a landscape gripped by winter, the darkness outside cut only by those ostentatious crystal chandeliers you’d expect in a billionaire’s lair. Inside, the family has gathered, bracing for their annual dance around the golden goose. But this year, wrangling for more than just the last slice of Christmas pudding, they’re jostling for a slice of an empire. The twist? Their patriarch, a billionaire with about as much chill as a Burberry runway, upends expectations and bequeaths his security fortune not to the privileged offspring but, rather gloriously, to the muscle in his shadow: the loyal family bodyguard.Cue immediate chaos. Not for nothing does the table setting feel more “pass the ammo” than “please pass the gravy.” There’s more than a hint of Agatha Christie by way of a John Woo set piece—less a silent night, more a ticking time bomb atop a bed of tinsel.At the center of this gleaming powder keg: Nick Jonas—yes, Nick of the Disney-honed jawline and platinum record fame—wearing less sparkle, more stubble. Consider it a late-2020s Hollywood tradition: pop demigods reinventing themselves as plausible tough guys. Skeptics may raise an eyebrow at Jonas wielding firepower instead of falsetto, but his past roles in “Jumanji: The Next Level” and the explosive, if somewhat blustery, “Midway” were hardly subtle hints. This time, though, “Bodyman” signals something else—a brash step into the sort of terrain where a Christmas sweater is the least dangerous thing in the house.Jonas, for his part, is hardly shy about his ambitions. Word has it he’s been simmering on this project for a while, adding producer muscle to his already-busy resume. You get the sense he’s chasing more than just another action flick—maybe an action dynasty. Or, at the very least, a chance to swap his pop poster persona for something that could, in a couple of years, look downright Schwarzeneggerian in the right lighting.The DNA for this film comes lined with a certain pedigree too. Gary Fleder, director of tense, unglamorous thrillers like “Homefront” and that clockwork-precise “Runaway Jury,” heads up the operation. Byron Balasco handles the script—expect sharp-tongued dialogue and a plot that ricochets through inheritance paranoia and ivy-wrapped scandal. The trio—Fleder, Balasco, Jonas—previously tagged in together on the battered fight drama “Kingdom,” which is perhaps why hopes are unusually high in the corridors of Berlin’s European Film Market, where “Bodyman” has already begun collecting industry buzz like Instagram likes during award season.So why is everyone from streaming giants to old-guard studios circling this one with such palpable hunger? For starters, it taps directly into the zeitgeist—2025’s very particular obsession with wealthy dynasties, the “nepo baby” conversation, and the uneasy mingling of privilege and power. It’s hard to ignore the shadow of real-life empires (Murdoch, Baldwin, pick your flavor) looming over such a premise. Yet, “Bodyman” appears less intent on broad satire and more focused on ferreting out the genuine anxieties that have gripped everything from Silicon Valley’s boardrooms to the gilded kitchens of Beverly Hills.A brief aside—Jeffrey Greenstein, whose company A Higher Standard is handling the global rights shuffle, framed it as not just “elevating the action genre,” but folding in a “grounded and gripping” edge. Dramatic pyrotechnics, certainly, but also emotional fallout—that rarest of Hollywood ingredients in a year stuffed with sequels and IP retreads.And, Jonas isn’t simply cashing in his face for a paycheck; his “Powered by Jonas” banner is stamped all over the production. The phrase “reinvention” gets thrown around every pilot season, yet it’s hard not to spot the whiff of something more deliberate at play. Like Mark Wahlberg or Gaga before him, he seems intent on carving out territory previously reserved for actors with grizzled jawlines and Oscar dates on their arm.Principal photography is on the starting line for June 2026, but the industry is already speculating, as it does, about sequel potential. Awards chatter? Too early, but stranger upsets have played out in recent years. Then again, Hollywood does love an underdog—especially one who once made hearts flutter in tween bedrooms across North America.So, as “Bodyman” preps to roll cameras, it’s worth wondering: will Jonas merely play at menace, or will he pull off a full-blown transformation? The premise is bold enough, the creative team shrewd enough, and the climate suitably hungry for new blood and new faces glinting with ambition.Whatever unfolds, there’s no question: family fortunes (both onscreen and off) have rarely felt so volatile. In the hands of Fleder and Jonas, inheritance may come with more than just a signed check—it might arrive at gunpoint, with trust funds and trust issues tangled in every frame.One more thing—if “Bodyman” hits as hard as the whispers suggest, don’t be surprised if those Miramax recliners are suddenly filled with bodyguards-turned-producers and pop stars eyeing their own empires. As for Hollywood’s dynasties, it’s safe to say their holidays are about to get a lot less predictable.