After Madonna announced a brand-new world tour last week, fans began speculating about the fate of her upcoming biopic. It seems that they were right to worry as Variety has reported that the Madonna biopic has been scrapped at Universal Pictures.
THR added that the Madonna biopic was actually scrapped late last year before the iconic musician announced her world tour. The outlet added that the development has been a struggle, with none of the drafts for the movie making it under 180 pages. There were reportedly conversations about turning it into two movies or maybe even transforming it into a mini-series, which would certainly have made it easier to include more of Madonna’s storied career. Although the project has been shelved at this point, Madonna may revisit it once her tour is complete.
The Madonna biopic was actually set to be directed by Madonna herself. It’s not every day that the subject gets to direct their own story, so that would have been interesting. Madonna also co-wrote the screenplay. She first tackled the script with Diablo Cody, who later exited the project, and again with Erin Cressida Wilson (The Girl on the Train). There have been previous attempts at telling the story of Madonna’s rise to fame, but she’s never been happy with the scripts she’s been sent. “I read that Universal was doing a script,” Madonna told Jimmy Fallon in 2021. “Like they sent me the script because they wanted my blessing, and I read it. It was the most hideous, superficial crap I’ve ever read.” The artist added that “the reason I’m doing it is because a bunch of people have tried to write movies about me, but they’re always men.”
Julia Garner, best known for her award-winning performance in Netflix’s Ozark, was said to be the frontrunner to play Madonna in the biopic. Julia Garner was one of several stars who participated in a months-long audition process to play Madonna. Garner, along with Florence Pugh, Odessa Young, and Alexa Demis, took choreography lessons with Madonna’s choreographer, as well as singing and reading sessions with Madonna herself.