The planned Madonna biopic starring Ozark‘s Julia Garner has reportedly been scrapped.
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The film was first announced back in 2020, with Madonna directing and co-writing the film herself, with Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody. Amy Pascal (Ghostbusters, Little Women) was set to serve as a producer.
Last summer, it was then reported that Garner had been offered the lead role after she “emerged the favourite” from over a dozen candidates.
Now, Variety report via multiple sources that the film is no longer in production at Universal Pictures, stating that the reason may be due to her recently announced 40th anniversary ‘Celebration’ tour, which kicks off in July.
They add that Madonna is still intent on making the film in the future, but the project has been paused indefinitely.
Madonna CREDIT: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for dcp
During a 2022 interview with Variety, Madonna gave an update on the movie and explained why she took a more hands-on role.
“I’ve had an extraordinary life, I must make an extraordinary film,” she said. “It was also a preemptive strike because a lot of people were trying to make movies about me. Mostly misogynistic men. So I put my foot in the door and said, ‘No one’s going to tell my story, but me’.”
Asked about the progress she’d made with the movie, Madonna replied: “I have a very long script that is really hard for me to make shorter. I’ve been whittling away at it, but it’s like hacking off my limbs.”
Madonna is due to kick off the North American leg of her ‘Celebration Tour’ in July, before the European run begins in October at London’s O2 Arena.
Madonna already added one additional date at London’s O2 Arena following “overwhelming demand” during the presale and this morning, a third show was added for October 17, with a fourth show then added at the 20,000 capacity London venue due to “phenomenal demand”. According to promoters Livenation, it’s set to be the final additional London show.
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