The highly anticipated biopic of Madonna, to be directed by Madonna herself, has reportedly been scrapped.
Variety reports that the project, which was to have featured “Ozark” star Julia Garner as Madonna, is no longer in development at Universal Pictures, following Madonna’s announcement that she’ll be hitting the road latest this year for what promises to be the biggest tour of her career.
News first emerged in 2020 that Madonna was spearheading a movie based on her life.
“I want to convey the incredible journey that life has taken me on as an artist, a musician, a dancer — a human being, trying to make her way in this world,” Madonna said in a statement at the time. “The focus of this film will always be music. Music has kept me going and art has kept me alive. There are so many untold and inspiring stories and who better to tell it than me. It’s essential to share the roller coaster ride of my life with my voice and vision.”
A preliminary script by Diablo Cody was reportedly abandoned; in October 2021, Madonna offered an update in a since-deleted Instagram post, writing that “my script is almost finished…”
In June 2022, Variety reported that Garner had been offered the role, and was likely to accept it.
The following month, Madonna told Variety that she decided to direct herself because she didn’t want “misogynistic men” in charge of a biopic about her.
“So I put my foot in the door and said, ‘No one’s going to tell my story but me,’” she said.
According to Variety, the biopic may not be dead so much as it is hibernating, quoting “insiders familiar with Madonna” who say that she wants to make the upcoming tour “her sole focus,” but “remains committed to making a film about her life one day.”
