Photo Credit: MTV International / CC by 3.0
The Madonna biopic is no longer in development at Universal Pictures, according to reports.
Variety reports the biopic is “taking an indefinite holiday” after multiple sources spoke about the fate of the film. Madonna announced a career-encompassing tour last week with many sold out dates. According to reports, Madonna is focused on the tour but hopes to make a film about her life one day.
The Madonna biopic was first announced in 2020, with the singer working on two script drafts encompassing both her professional and personal life. Julia Garner was slated to portray the legendary pop singer in the film. The Hollywood Reporter says every script Madonna turned in for the biopic was at least three hours long—which presented some challenges. Producers were unsure if the script would do better as a TV series or a serialized set of movies.
Julia Garner attended ‘Madonna bootcamp’ as part of her process to audition for the role. The Guardian reports that after Madonna drew up a shortlist of actors to play her–she put them through a musical performance test.
“The young stars were drilled hard, participating in grueling 11-hour choreography sessions with Madonna’s own choreographer, several readings with Madonna and a number of further auditions where they had to sing Madonna songs for the approval of Madonna,” The Guardian reports.
Meanwhile, the 64-year-old singer will focus on her 12th world tour, hitting 40 cities and celebrating four decades of music with her Celebration tour. Bob the Drag Queen is a special guest on all the dates. Tickets for the tour went on sale January 20, with many dates selling out within 15 minutes of availability. Several new dates were added and those sold out just as quickly. The tour kicks off on July 15 in Vancouver, BC at Rogers Arena and will wrap up on December 1 at Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam.