A Madonna biopic, written by Madge herself with Diablo Cody, was announced in 2020. The race to play the Material Girl was fierce, with entertainers including Sydney Sweeney, Florence Pugh, Emma Laird, Sky Ferreira, Bebe Rexha, and Snail Mail’s Lindsey Jordan all auditioning to star, but the role was ultimately offered to Julia Garner in 2022. A few months later, Madonna put the whole project on ice to focus on her Celebration Tour. Then, late last year, she posed a question on Instagram: "Should I make the story of my life into a series or a feature film?" This was followed by news this past summer of a Madonna limited series at Netflix, unrelated to the biopic.
These days Garner is getting a lot of attention thanks to the box-office success of Weapons — including a glamorous new photo shoot and interview in W Magazine this week. In footage from the chat, Garner is asked about playing Madonna. She says she can't say much about it, but it's still happening: "It's a work in progress." She also names "Borderline" and "Papa Don't Preach" as her two favorite Madonna songs. Watch that segment below.
It’s happening, #JuliaGarner is set to play #Madonna in the official biopic—and she’s more than ready. pic.twitter.com/ciK9FxSSSB
— W Magazine (@wmag) September 3, 2025
