Overview

• On the SmartLess podcast this week, Julia Garner affirmed that the long-delayed Madonna biopic “is still supposed to happen,” reaffirming her casting as the pop icon.
• Garner detailed her 2022 audition, saying she learned choreography and sang in front of Madonna to secure the lead role amid stiff competition.
• Universal shelved the feature in early 2023 to accommodate Madonna’s Celebration Tour, and Madonna resumed script rewrites in mid-2024 under the working title Who’s That Girl.
• Madonna initially co-wrote screenplay drafts with Diablo Cody before partnering with Erin Cressida Wilson and taking full creative control as writer-director.
• Separately, Madonna has enlisted producer-director Shawn Levy to develop a Netflix limited series about her life, which is currently in early development.