Fan-Favorite Netflix Star Will Reportedly Play Madonna in New Biopic

A biopic of legendary pop star Madonna is in “active development,” and the leading role has been offered to Julia Garner. Sources close to the Universal Pictures production told reporters from PEOPLE that Garner is the first choice for this part. Fans of Garner’s work over the last few years – including the Netflix original series Ozark — are more excited than ever.

The Madonna biopic is in a unique place in development – somewhat mysterious yet also out in the open. After Madonna herself posted about the project on Instagram in the fall, fans have been dying to hear who will take on the titular role. Sources at Universal also told Variety that 28-year-old Garner is the first pick. She was reportedly chosen out of 12 actresses in the last round of auditions.

Madonna first announced this biopic in October, shortly after her concert documentary Madame X premiered on Paramount+. She posted a photo of herself lying on a studio floor reading a printed-out screenplay, writing: “Grateful for the success of Madame X, that my script is almost finished, and for the support of my beautiful children!”

Information on the Madonna biopic is scarce, and most of it comes from the “Material Girl” singer herself. In August of 2020, she posted a video on Instagram suggesting that she was working on a script with writer Diablo Cody – known for movies like Juno and Jennifer’s Body, among others. She answered fans’ questions about this project the following month during an Instagram Live stream. She said that she and Cody were writing a movie about her life and that Amy Pascal would be a producer.

In June of 2021, Madonna made another screenwriting post, this time with Erin Wilson. Wilson is a playwright, author and college professor whose screen credits include The Girl on the Train. It’s not clear what this means for Cody – a report by Entertainment Weekly says that Cody submitted a completed script to Universal, but a report by Newsweek says that Cody departed the biopic project. It’s not clear if Wilson was doing re-writes of Cody’s script or starting from the ground up.

Madonna’s latest allusion to this project came on her Instagram Story on Tuesday as the reports of Garner’s casting were first breaking. She posted a screenshot of one of her own album covers but pasted a poll over it. It asked: “Movie about my life? Or a world tour?” Garner has not posted anything about these reports. 

Whatever the case, casting rumors is a quantum leap forward for this project, and fans couldn’t be more excited. Those interested in more news should keep an eye on Madonna’s Instagram page — especially for livestreams. The singer has been the number one source for news on this project so far.