No, it wasn’t a fever dream, a Madonna biopic is apparently still on the way. The news comes straight from Julia Garner, the actor best known for her roles in Ozark and Inventing Anna, who was cast to play the pop icon in the film.
The project was first announced in 2020, though it’s been up in the air for much of the past two years. In early 2023, it was announced that Universal was not moving forward with the Madonna biopic, but within a year, Madonna teased that she was back on board for the project and was working on a script, according to Deadline.
Then, it was announced earlier this year that the mega star had partnered with Netflix to create a limited series alongside Shawn Levy instead of the epic cinema release she originally envisaged. This pivot aims to capture Madonna’s journey in far more detail, from her early days in Detroit to her most iconic moments like “Like a Prayer” and “Evita”. Over multiple episodes, we can assume that a limited series will provide us with deeper dives into her life.
Now, after months of quiet speculation, we finally have some insight into whether the project actually is moving forward, with Garner also offering a glimpse into the audition process in a new interview.
Is Julia Garner Playing Madonna?
According to Garner, yes, she will still be playing Madonna in the upcoming biopic, titled Who’s That Girl? “That’s supposed to still happen,” she said on the SmartLess podcast, adding that “anything that’s great … takes a long time”. She admitted that she “grew up listening” to Madonna and has always been “such a fan”.
As for how she landed the role, she makes it sound simple. “It just came about. I knew they were doing a project, making a movie about it, and then I went out to audition,” she said. “I kind of just wanted to see if I could do it, because I wasn’t a trained dancer and I had to learn how to dance and then dance in front of her and convince her that I can dance, basically, and sing. And sing with her!”
She continues, explaining that going into the audition, she tried her best to embody what she perceived to be Madonna’s persona. “Okay, what would Madonna do?” she recalls thinking. “Which is convince you that she deserves, you know, to be in this room, and I owned it. I was kind of like, ‘You can take it or leave it, but if you leave it, if I leave, then that’s on you.’”
When Does The Madonna Biopic Come Out?
There is no word yet on when the Madonna biopic (or limited series) will go into production, so it’s impossible to guess when it will be released to the public. We’ll keep you updated as news comes out.
