‘I’ve had an extraordinary life’: Madonna reveals why Universal shelved her big-budget biopic

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Singer and songwriter Madonna has revealed new details about the challenges surrounding her long-discussed biopic, claiming that a disagreement with Universal Studios over the film’s budget ultimately derailed the project.

Speaking in an Interview magazine cover story published on Monday, June 22, she reflected on the years spent developing the film and the difficulties that followed after the project stalled. She also discussed the transition from a planned feature film to a television series and the ongoing efforts to bring her life story to the screen.

Madonna details budget dispute with Universal Studios

During the interview, she said she had spent two years writing the script for the biopic and another two years working with line producers at Universal Studios on budgeting and casting. “I was supposed to make a movie about my life,” Madonna said.

She continued, “I worked on my script for two years and spent two years at Universal Studios with the line producers doing budgeting and casting.” The singer claimed that the project collapsed after she and Universal Studios disagreed about the scale of the budget required resulting in "falling out."

“I've had an extraordinary life. I've had a huge life, so I needed a big budget,” she explained, adding that Universal Studios “couldn't get their heads around it.” According to Madonna, she later found a way to reduce production costs by making the film in Serbia.

However, she said the studio remained unconvinced. “One of their first reactions was, ‘We don't believe you'd stay in Serbia more than four days,’” she recalled adding, “And I said, ‘Did you read the script? My whole life has been survival. I'm not going there for a holiday.’”

She admitted that after the project fell apart, she found herself “in limbo.” Variety reported in January 2023 that Universal Pictures was no longer developing the biopic, a project that had been linked to actress Julia Garner since at least 2022, with a source telling PEOPLE in June of that year that the 'Ozark' star was Madonna’s top choice to portray her on screen.

Madonna explains Netflix series plans for the biopic

Following the collapse of the film project, she said Netflix approached her about turning her life story into a series with Variety confirming in May that a series was in development. Madonna explained that the transition proved difficult because she could not use the script developed with Universal Studios unless purchased it back.

“That was a whole other long process, because 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,” she said. She added that creating a series required finding writers and a suitable showrunner, a process that lasted “another eight or nine months.”

During that time, she shifted her attention back to music and began working on 'Confessions II.' Despite the project's setbacks, Madonna and Garner remained close, appearing together at photographer and filmmaker Steven Klein’s birthday party in May 2023.

Garner also appeared in her short film that premiered at the Tribeca Festival and in the 'Bring Your Love' music video. In July 2024, she also revealed the working title of the project as 'Who’s That Girl,' referencing her 1987 film and song of the same name.

Sharing photos with a typewriter and the screenplay, she wrote, “I Need A-lot of Bandz to make this………..OKAY,” adding, “Story of my life.” Earlier, when the biopic was first announced, she said she wanted to “convey the incredible journey that life has taken me on as an artist, a musician, a dancer — a human being, trying to make her way in this world.”