After Two Years, Madonna’s Biopic Has Been Halted

Since 2020, details of the pop icon’s biopic have been kept under tight wraps. Now, it seems as though the project is no more

From rumors of 11-hour “Madonna boot camp” dance auditions to unstoppable conversations surrounding what rising starlet would play the best-selling female music artist in history, ever since Universal revealed Madonna’s biopic to be in the works back in 2017 it has been the subject of constant conversation. That was, until, it was exclusively revealed to Variety on Tuesday that the highly anticipated project is no longer in development, with the news coming just days after the star announced her career-spanning world tour.

 

V first reported on the biopic back in 2017, after Universal revealed plans to produce the untitled film. It had been announced that Madonna herself would be both directing and co-writing the film’s script alongside Diablo Cody, seeking to give fans a look into her early life and her journey as an artist, a musician and a dancer. “The focus of this film will always be music. Music has kept me going and art has kept me alive.” Madonna said in a statement. “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.” 

Since those details were released over two years ago, there had been little else disclosed on the status of the project – that was, until, just months ago when headlines broke that Julia Garner had reportedly signed on to star as the singer. After months of conflicting casting gossip – with names such as Florence Pugh, Sydney Sweeny and Alexa Demie floating around – it seemed as though the biopic was beginning to truly get underway. And yet, even then many details of the film remained unknown, including additional casting. 

While we may have to wait a bit longer for the biopic, Madonna fans were given a new reason to rejoice last week with the announcement of the “Like A Virgin” singer’s world tour, already selling out venues in New York, London and Paris. Dubbed ‘The Celebration Tour’ by Rolling Stone, the tour will be composed of her greatest hits. “I am excited to explore as many songs as possible in hopes to give my fans the show they have been waiting for,” the singer shared in a statement to the magazine. 

However, according to Variety the film’s fate was decided late last year far before the announcement of the tour and that despite Universal pulling out, Madonna remains committed to telling her story through the medium of film. 

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