The Madonna boot camp was all for naught. Sources told Variety that the upcoming Madonna biopic, set to star Julia Garner in the lead role, has been scrapped to accommodate the pop star’s upcoming world tour. Madonna herself was set to direct the extravaganza before she decided to embark on a career-spanning event that sold out dates in New York, London, Paris, and other cities in minutes. Diablo Cody wrote the screenplay — and even did a chaotic live writing sesh on Instagram with Madonna back in 2020 — and prolific Hollywood bigwig Amy Pascal was going to produce the film. Although the project is reportedly no longer in development at Universal, the ’80s icon does hope to make a biopic about her own life one day, according to sources. Vulture reached out to Madonna’s reps for comment.
When the project was still on track, the Material Girl and her casting director invited a crop of promising young actresses — including Euphoria’s Alexa Demie, Mayor of Kingstown’s Emma Laird, and Mothering Sunday’s Odessa Young — to participate in a ruthless boot camp to find their lucky star. The Hollywood Reporter also reported that Florence Pugh, along with musicians Bebe Rexha and Sky Ferreira, was in the running. Consisting of 11-hour days chock-full of choreography sessions with both a choreographer and Madonna herself plus an intense callback, during which hopefuls participated in readings and singing auditions, the boot camp eventually resulted in a role for Garner. Perhaps she’ll get VIP tickets to a sold-out show or two as consolation — she already knows most of the moves.
