- Primary Subject: Madonna's canceled biopic
- Key Update: Madonna revealed why Universal Pictures cancelled her biopic.
- Status: Confirmed
- Last Verified: June 23, 2026
- Quick Answer: Madonna’s biopic was canceled after Universal Pictures balked at the budget required to cover her extraordinary life, leading to an intense creative standoff.
Madonna recently revealed why her planned biopic was canceled after years of development and whether it will still see the light of day.
A few years ago, the legendary music icon was working on a biopic about her life and career. Aside from producing the project, she was also attached to direct and co-write, and Julia Garner was cast to play her. However, Universal Pictures decided to pull the plug, and it's no longer moving forward.
Why the Madonna Biopic Was Canceled
Speaking recently with Interview magazine, Madonna shared details about the development of her canceled biopic and explained why Universal Pictures ultimately canceled it.
She cited the disagreements over the budget of the project as the main reason why the biopic did not move forward.
"I was supposed to make a movie about my life. I worked on my script for two years and spent two years at Universal Studios with the line producers doing budgeting and casting," the music icon said.
"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. You know what I mean?"
Madonna added that the studio "couldn’t get their heads around" and she even tried to lower the proposed budget to find "a way to make it for less money in Serbia."
"Maybe they just didn’t believe in me. One of their first reactions was, ‘We don’t believe you’d stay in Serbia more than four days.’ And I said, ‘Did you read the script?’ My whole life has been survival. I’m not going there for a holiday," she said.
"But anyway, I was in limbo when that fell apart, and then Netflix reached out to make a series. 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. Don’t ask."
What Is the Future of the Madonna Biopic Project?
As Madonna mentioned in the interview, the biopic project has moved on to Netflix as a TV series, with Shawn Levy attached as one of the executive producers. It is still in the development process.
"I started trying to understand how making a series would work. It’s a very, very different process. You have to meet a lot of writers and find the right showrunner, and I couldn’t find one," the music icon said of the TV project.
"This went on for another eight or nine months. I was like, ‘Good thing I have another job because I need to work, I need to create. I need to do what I was put on this earth to do.'"
Although Universal scrapped the biopic, the project will find a second life as a fictional storyline in the second season of The Studio. Earlier this year, Madonna and Julia Garner filmed episodes in Venice, setting up a major season arc where a fictionalized version of the biopic, starring Garner, makes its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
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