Madonna's Biopic Stalls
Madonna's Ambitious Biopic Stalled Due to Universal Budget and Script Rights Disputes
Key Points
Julia Fox had meetings to discuss potentially playing Madonna's longtime friend in the biopic.
The project began development in 2020 as a feature under the working title 'Who’s That Girl,' with Julia Garner set to portray Madonna.
Netflix pursued a limited-series adaptation and embarked on a lengthy search for writers and a showrunner, with producer Shawn Levy later attached to a potential Netflix series.
Madonna proposed filming in Serbia to cut costs, but Universal reportedly wasn’t on board with the idea.
Because the script was written for Universal, Madonna faced paying an extortionist price to buy it back in order to reuse it for any Netflix project.
Madonna says a budget clash with Universal Pictures killed her long-in-development biopic, leaving one of Hollywood's most-watched projects in limbo. In recent interviews, the pop star said simply: "I've had a huge life, so I needed a big budget" — and the studio wouldn't go there. Variety reports Universal won a multi-studio auction in 2021 to make the film, only to shelve it by January 2023.
The fallout sent the project — working title *Who's That Girl* — spinning toward Netflix as a potential limited series. But even that pivot hit a wall. Because Universal owns the script Madonna wrote, she faces paying what she has called an "extortionist" fee — estimated at $15 million to $20 million — just to take her own story elsewhere, according to Puck News.
How a $100 Million Dream Collided With Studio Reality
Madonna began developing the biopic at Universal in August 2020, co-writing the script with *Juno* writer Diablo Cody. Cody later departed after turning in a draft. Erin Cressida Wilson, writer of *The Girl on the Train*, took over. The estimated budget ballooned to between $100 million and $125 million — a steep ask for a music biopic. Variety notes that comparable films like *Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody* failed to recoup a far smaller $45 million budget.
To cut costs, Madonna proposed filming in Serbia. The country offers a 25% cash rebate on qualified production spending — meaning a $100 million film could save $25 million there. Universal reportedly wasn't on board. Variety says the studio felt Belgrade's infrastructure couldn't handle the large-scale 1980s New York City recreations the script required. Madonna later told Vogue: "They wanted 'Bohemian Rhapsody' — sanitized and profitable. No one is going to tell my story but me."
Julia Garner Was Set — Then the Project Went Dark
In June 2022, Julia Garner beat out Florence Pugh and Alexa Demie to land the lead role after a grueling "Madonna Bootcamp" of dance and vocal training, The Hollywood Reporter noted. The casting generated enormous buzz. Then Universal officially shelved the project in January 2023, citing concerns about the script's length and Madonna's focus on her upcoming "Celebration" World Tour, according to Deadline.
Julia Fox also entered the picture, meeting with Madonna in 2022 to discuss playing Madonna's longtime friend Debi Mazar. Fox confirmed the talks to Entertainment Tonight, saying: "We talked for hours about the New York scene in the 80s." As of early 2026, Garner remains "loosely attached" to the project, but her representatives say she is taking other roles due to the indefinite hold, Deadline reports.
Netflix Circled, But the Script Ransom Blocked a Deal
After Universal walked away, Netflix moved in — not for a movie, but for an 8-part limited series. Producer Shawn Levy, known for *Stranger Things*, was reportedly brought in as the bridge between Madonna and Netflix, according to Puck News. The format shift made sense. Madonna's story spans from 1978 New York to the 1990 *Blonde Ambition* tour — too much ground for a two-hour film.
The problem: Universal owns the script. Because the studio paid for development and multiple writers, it controls the rights. If Netflix wants to use that material, it must pay Universal a "turnaround" fee — industry jargon for a buyout price — estimated at $15 million to $20 million, per Puck News. If no deal is struck, Madonna may have to write an entirely new script from scratch to avoid copyright issues, Bloomberg has reported.
Madonna's Music Catalog Is the Wild Card Worth Watching
Despite the stalemate, one asset keeps streaming platforms interested: Madonna's music. She controls her catalog personally. For any platform, those sync rights — meaning the legal right to use her songs in the show — are estimated to be worth over $50 million in marketing value alone, according to Billboard. That leverage may be her strongest card in any future negotiation.
The story is being framed in very different ways depending on who's telling it. Tabloids call Madonna "difficult." Rolling Stone frames it as a legendary artist fighting a studio system that wants to "dilute" her story. Trade journals like Variety see it as a standard case of "development hell" — driven by the shifting economics of streaming, where big-budget adult dramas no longer have a clear home in theaters.
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