Madonna: Queen of Pop Biopic Abandoned

American actress Julia Garner was supposed to play Madonna on the big screen.

Announced in 2020, the Madonna biopic is no longer officially in development at Universal Pictures with the help of producer Amy Pascal. Madonna Louise Ciccone, also known as Madonna Alone, worked on two versions of the script covering large periods of her creative and personal life: an early version was written with Diablo Cody (Juno, Burlesque, Paradise) and after Erin Cressida Wilson (Secretary, The Girl on the Train, Snow White) made the second pass.

An upcoming biopic about music legend Madonna is taking an indefinite hiatus. The project that the icon herself was going to direct is no longer in development at Universal Pictures. https://t.co/AmmkuOMmLK pic.twitter.com/qpzceTs113

— Variety (@Variety) January 24, 2023

Speculation about the fate of the film began immediately after Madonna announced a new world tour, dubbed “Celebration Tour”, in honor of the fortieth anniversary of her career in the music industry (all tickets are already sold out in New York, London, Paris and other cities). Sources close to the singer said she’s only worried about the tour, which will offer an artistic journey through four decades of hits, but remains determined to one day make a film about her life.

Madonna’s career in video

Donna Langley, president of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, presented the project to Universal Pictures with Amy Pascal of Pascal Pictures. Sarah Zambreno and Madonna’s longtime manager Guy Osiri were to serve as executive producers. The biopic would mark the reunion of Madonna and Amy Pascal, who worked together on the baseball classic A League of Their Own in 1992.