Madonna has revealed that her long-awaited biopic was scrapped following a dispute with Universal Pictures over the project’s budget.
Speaking to Interview magazine the music icon explained that the studio and filmmakers could not agree on the scale of funding needed to tell her story.
“We had a falling out, me and Universal, regarding budget because I needed – I’ve had an extraordinary life. I’ve had a huge life, so I needed a big budget,” Madonna said.
The singer revealed that she even suggested relocating production to Serbia to reduce costs but the proposal failed to gain support.
“I found a way to make it for less money in Serbia, but I don’t think they were into the idea,” she said adding that studio executives questioned whether she would commit to filming there for an extended period.
“One of their first reactions was: ‘We don’t believe you’d stay in Serbia more than four days.’”
Madonna said she pushed back against those concerns arguing that her life story had always been defined by determination and perseverance.
“I said, ‘Did you read the script?’ My whole life has been survival. I’m not going there for a holiday.”
The biopic was first announced in 2020 with Madonna attached as director and screenwriter alongside Diablo Cody.
The project was intended to tell the story of her rise to global superstardom through her own perspective.
Actress Julia Garner was later cast to play Madonna after an intensive audition process that reportedly became known as “Madonna bootcamp.”
However reports emerged in 2023 that the film which was reportedly being developed under the working title Who’s That Girl had been shelved.
Madonna also revealed that a potential television adaptation with Netflix failed to move forward because Universal retained ownership of the script she had written.
“Netflix reached out to make a series,” she explained. “I couldn’t use the script I had with Universal unless I bought it from them for an extortionist’s price, even though I wrote it.”
The singer said she later explored turning her life story into a television series but struggled to find the right creative team to bring the project together.
While the future of any Madonna screen project remains uncertain the singer’s latest comments offer the clearest explanation yet for why the highly anticipated biopic never reached production.
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