Madonna has likely found her Madonna.
Julia Garner is the frontrunner being eyed to play the pop icon in the biopic from Universal that will be directed by Madonna. It is early in the process, so much so that it is currently unclear at what stage the dealmaking is in.
If a deal does make, the Inventing Anna star earned the opportunity to play Madonna after a many months-long process, which included choreography sessions with the singer’s choreographer, as well as choreography, singing, and reading sessions with Madonna, herself. Other actresses that auditioned for the role included Florence Pugh, Odessa Young and Alexa Demie, among a multitude of others.
Amy Pascal is set to produce the movie, which was co-written by Secretary writer Erin Cressida Wilson.
“The reason I’m doing it is because a bunch of people have tried to write movies about me, but they’re always men,” Madonna said in October during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Brett Ratner’s RatPac and Michael De Luca were previously attached to produce a biopic about the singer for Universal based on the 2016 Black List script Blonde Ambition. In 2020, it was announced that the singer would be directing a biopic for Universal and co-writing the screenplay with Oscar-winner Diablo Cody. Wilson later took over co-writing duties.
Garner has earned two Emmys for her role in the Netflix crime drama series Ozark. She most recently starred in the streamer’s Shonda Rhimes series Inventing Anna. On the features side, this would be the biggest role to date for Garner, who has stuck largely to smaller budgeted projects and indie fare like The Assistant and Grandma.
She is repped by UTA, Anonymous Content, and Sloane Offer.