Why did Madonna’s biopic get shelved? Singer reveals the studio fallout

Madonna has revealed that her long-awaited biopic was shelved after a disagreement with Universal Pictures over the film’s budget, bringing an end to years of development on the highly anticipated project.

Speaking in a new interview with Interview, the pop icon explained that she spent several years working on the movie, including writing the script, collaborating with producers and being involved in casting decisions. However, discussions with Universal reportedly broke down over the financial scale required to tell her story.

Madonna said her extraordinary career and personal journey required a major production budget, explaining that the film needed the resources to properly portray the events that shaped her rise from a young performer to one of the world’s biggest music stars.

The Madonna biopic was originally announced in 2020, with the singer attached as co-writer and director. The project attracted major attention, with actress Julia Garner eventually chosen to play Madonna after reportedly completing an intense audition process involving singing and dance preparation. Writers including Diablo Cody and Erin Cressida Wilson were also involved during different stages of development.

According to Madonna, she considered ways to lower costs, including moving production to Serbia, but said the idea did not gain support from Universal Pictures. The singer suggested the studio struggled to understand the scale and ambition behind the project.

After the film appeared to be abandoned, reports suggested the story could be transformed into a limited television series. However, Madonna revealed that version also faced challenges, including finding the right writers and showrunner to adapt the material for television.

Although the biopic never moved forward, parts of the project’s legacy remain. Julia Garner recently appeared in a short film connected to Madonna’s upcoming Confessions 2 album, while both Madonna and Garner are expected to appear in Season 2 of The Studio, which reportedly features a storyline inspired by the cancelled film’s development.